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EEPORT 

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THE COMMISSION 



APPOINTED UNDER 



ACT OF CONGRESS APPROVED MARCH 3, 1873, 



TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE 



CROW INDIANS IN MONTANA TERRITORY. 



Grwv"* . ~^o -rvjL<^<rU o^Xjl \j^nJ<M. I rj ^A 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFF I^CJE . 

1873. 






a- 



'DiOtDo 



Board op Indian Commissioners, 

id accompanyinf documents ncUauS in Mou tana, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

THOMAS K. CREE, 
To the Honorable Secretary of the Interior ***** 



REPORT 

OP THE 

COMMISSION TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE CROW 
TRIBE OF INDIANS. 



Sir : We have the honor to report that under our appointment as 
special commissioners to negotiate with the Crow tribe of Indians, con- 
tained in your letter of May 1, 1873, viz : 

Letter of the Honorable Secretary of the Interior. 

Department of the Interior, 

Washington, D. C, May 14, 1873. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 21st ultimo, recommending the 
appointment of a special commission to visit the Crow tribe of Indians 
Avith a view of negotiating an agreement with the chiefs and head- 
men of said tribe of Indians in the Territory of Montana for the sur- 
render of their reservation in said Territory, or of such part thereof as 
may be consistent with the welfare of said Indians, as provided by the 
act of March 3, 1873. 

In compliance with said recommendation, I hereby appoint Hon. F. E. 
Brunot, of the Board of Indian Commissioners, * Col. E. C. Kemble, of 
New York, and H. E. Alvord, of Virginia, to constitute said commis- 
sion, for the purpose named by you. 

Messrs. Kemble and Alvord will be allowed compensation at the rate 
of $8 per day, in addition to their actual and necessary expenses, 
while engaged in the performance of this duty. Mr. Brunot will be 
allowed only his actual expenses. 

You will be pleased to prepare instructions for the guidance of said 
commission, a draft of which you will submit to this Department for 
its approval. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, ■ 

C. DELANO, 

Secretary. 
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

and the instructions of the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
contained in the following letter: 

Letter of the Hon. Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

Department of the Interior, 
Office of Indian Affairs, 

Washington, D. C, May 31, 1873. 
Sir: By the terms of an act of Congress approved March 3,1873, it is 
provided : "That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, au- 
thorized to negotiate with the chiefs and head-men of the Crow tribe 

* Subsequently changed to General E. Whittlesey, of Washington, and James Wright, 
M. D., of Mont-aim. 



of Indians in the Territory of Montana for the surrender of their res- 
ervation in said Territory, or of such part thereof as may be consist- 
ent with the welfare of said Indians : Provided, That any such nego- 
tiation shall leave the remainder of said reservation in compact form 
and in good locality for farming purposes, having within it a suffi- 
ciency of good land for farming, and a sufficiency for water and tim- 
ber; and if there is upon such reservation a locality where fishing 
could be valuable to the Indians, to include the same, if practicable ; 
And the Secretary shall report his action in pursuance of this act to 
Congress, at the next session thereof, for its confirmation or rejection." 

Pursuant to the provisions of the foregoing act, and in compli- 
ance with the directions contained in letter of the honorable Secretary of 
the Interior, under date of the 14th instant, you are informed that a special 
commission has been appointed, consisting of yourself, as chairman, in 
conjunction with *Col. E. C. Kemble, of Xew York, and H. E.Alvord, of 
Virginia, to visit the Crow tribe of Indians and negotiate an agreement 
with them to the end that the objects of said act may be effected. 

You will proceed to the Crow agency, and, after consultation with the 
United States agent for the tribe, will assemble the Indians in open 
councd, at some point on the reservation deemed most desirable for the 
purpose, and explain to them the purport and objects of the act of March 
3, 1873, and of your visit. 

The Crow reserve was established pursuant to the treaty with them con- 
cluded May 7, 1868, and is bounded as follows: "Commencing where the 
107th degree of longitude west of Greenwich crosses the south boundary 
of Montana Territory ; thence north along said 107th meridian to the 
mid-channel of the Yellowstone Eiver; thence up said mid-channel of 
the Yellowstone to the point where it crosses the said southern bound- 
ary of Montana, being the 45th degree of north latitude; and thence east 
along said parallel of latitude to the place of beginning." 

Such an extent of territory being greatly in excess of the quantity re- 
quired for the necessities of the Indians, and the northern boundary 
thereof, throughout its entire length, being in close proximity to the pro- 
posed line of the Northern Pacific Eailroad, it is desirable that the In- 
dians should relinquish to the Government at least a portion thereof, 
and consent to confine themselves within more circumscribed limits. 

It is with this end primarily in view that you should conduct your 
negotiations under the foregoing appointment. 

You will explain to the Indians that it is the desire of the Government 
that they should adopt agricultural and pastoral pursuits to the end 
that they may in time become self-sustaining and prosperous, and that 
in order to encourage them in the cultivation of such pursuits all possi- 
ble aid will be afforded them in the way of stock and agricultural im- 
plements. 

Should you find them willing to relinquish upon reasonable terms any 
portion of their reservation to the United States, you will cause written 
articles of agreement to that effect to be prepared and duly signed by 
the chiefs and head-men of the tribe, and by each member of the com- 
mission. Such agreement must clearly describe the portion of the reser- 
vation ceded and the consideration to be paid therefor, expressed in such 
form as to admit of the largest discretion being exercised by the Depart- 
ment in relation to the manner of investing or expending such consider- 
ation for the welfare of the Indians. 

* Changed to General E. Whittlesey, of Washington, and Jarnes Wright, M. D., of 
Montana. 



Portions of the reservation are very mountainous, and undoubtedly 
rich in minerals of different kinds. Many mining claims are now being 
worked by white settlers on the reserve, and, as reported by the agent, 
some of them were located before the country was set apart as a reserve 
for the Crows, and the miners in consequence claim priority of right. 
In view of these facts the agent has also heretofore recommended that 
the Crows should be induced to cede that portion of their reservation 
lying between the waters of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Eivers, 
as the only way in which satisfactory adjustment can be made of the 
difficulties that will otherwise inevitably arise between the miners and 
the Indians. You will, however, in negotiating with the Indians, be 
governed by your own judgment as to the portion most desirable for 
them to cede, taking due care that the portion retained by them shall be 
of a character best adapted to their necessities, with the end in view of 
their eventually becoming an agricultural and pastoral people. 

Care should also be exercised in negotiating any agreement that the 
portion of the reservation retained by the Indians for their use and occu- 
pancy shall be in compact form and in good locality for agricultural 
purposes, due regard being paid to the quantity of tillable land within 
its limits, as well as the sufficiency of the supply of water and timber. 
Also, if practicable, to include such fisheries as may be of value to the 
Indians as a means of furnishing them with supplies of food. 

It must also be dearly understood that any agreement made with the 
Indians will be of validity only upon its ratification by Congress, and 
this fact should be impressed at every opportunity thoroughly and forci- 
bly upon the minds of the Indians, in order that no misunderstanding 
relative thereto may exist on their part. 

Another matter to which you will give your attention is the contem- 
plated change in the location of the Crow agency. The present loca- 
tion thereof is understood to be highly unfavorable and unsatisfactory 
to the Indians, being remote from timber, and having an insufficient 
quantity of good agricultural land in its vicinity, as well as being greatly 
exposed to high winds. 

You will consult with Superintendent Wright and Agent Pease in 
relation to this matter, and will obtain all the information in your power 
as to the most suitable point for locating such agency, and report your 
views concerning the same to this office. 

The duties enjoined upon you in the foregoing instructions will be 
entered upon immediately after the completion of the duties assigned 
you as chairman of the special commission to visit and negotiate with 
the Northern Sioux, parties to the treaty of 1868. 

You will be allowed your actual necessary expenses while engaged in 
the performance of the duties assigned you, vouchers for which, when 
practicable, should be obtained and submitted to this office with your 
account. 

You will submit a detaUed report of your proceedings at the earliest 
day practicable, accompanied by such form of written agreement as may 
have been entered into with the Indians. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

EDWT> P. SMITH, 

Commissioner. 

Hon. Felix E. Brunot, 

Chairman Special Commission, Pittsburgh, Penn. 



8 

the chairman of the commission, accompanied by Thomas K. Cree as 
secretary, arrived at Bozeman July 7, 1873. Arrangements were at 
once made to gather all the Crow Indians at the agency for a council. 

On the 29th of July General E. Whittlesey and Dr. James Wright, 
members of the commission, arrived at Bozeman. The next day a 
conference of the commission was held. The chairman read to the com- 
mission the letter of the honorable Secretary of the Interior, of date 
May 14; the letter of the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
of date May 31 ; report of Agent Pease, of date April 30; and the treaty 
made with the Crows at Fort Laramie, May 7, 1868. 

July 31 we drove to the Crow agency, found that the main body of 
Indians had not yet arrived, but some thirty chiefs and head-men, repre- 
senting the Mountain and Kiver Crows, had been sent forward to meet 
the commission. 

The next morning we had a conference with them, Blackfoot, the 
second chief of the Mountain Crows, being the spokesman. He in- 
formed us that the main body of the Indians were encamped some dis- 
tance from the agency, and could not arrive before the 8th or 10th of 
August. He accounted for their delay in getting to the agency, after 
the arrival of the messenger in their camp, by the fact that they had 
been fighting a large war party of the Sioux, who were following them, 
necessitating great care in the moving of the women, children, and 
camp equipage; to the prevalence of sickness, from which -many had 
died, and to the high stage ol water, which delayed them considerably, 
as there was great danger in crossing the swollen streams. He told the 
commission that the party would return to the camp the following day, 
and would come back with it to the agency as expeditiously as possible. 
A full report of this conference will be found in the accompanying doc- 
uments. 

The main body of the River Crows left Benton in good season to 
reach the agency, but, as we were informed, when some four days on 
their journey were stopped by parties interested in keeping them in 
the vicinity of the trading posts on the Missouri River. 

The main camp arrived at the agency August 8. The erysipelas was 
prevailing among them in a contagious form; many had died from it, 
and Iron Bull and Blackfoot, the two principal chiefs, were both sick. 
Long Horse, the third chief and most prominent warrior, was in mourn- 
ing for the death of his brother, who had been killed a few days before 
in the encounter with the Sioux. 

The issue of provisions prevented the holding of a council the next day, 
the Indians giving as a reason for not wishing to come into council the 
sickness of Iron Bull and Blackfoot. 

The council conveued on the 11th of August. There were present, in 
addition to the members of the commission, General Swietzer, command- 
ant of Fort Ellis, Dr. Lightfoot, U. S. A., Captain Tyler and Lieutenant 
Rowe, of company F, Second Cavalry. Major Pease, agent for the 
Crows; Nelson Story, esq., of Bozeman ; Charles Hoffman, trader; sev- 
eral of the employes of the agency; and, of the Indians, Iron Bull, Black- 
foot, and all the principal chiefs, and a large number of Indians repre- 
senting both branches of the Crow tribe. 

In' opening the council the chairman expressed the regret he had felt 
at not meeting the Crows on a former visit, and the pleasure it gave him- 
self and the other members of the commission to meet them at the present 
time. We then read and explained to the Indians the treaty made by 
them at Fort Laramie in 1868, the act of Congress of March 3, 1873, 



9 

under which the commission was appointed, and the letter of instruc- 
tions of the honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 

We dwelt upon the fact of the miners in large numbers being on the 
reservation; of the recent discovery of gold and silver mines; and of the 
danger of trouble unless the Indians were willing to sell a portion of 
their reservation, which was of little use to them, and accepting in pay- 
ment a satisfactory sum of money that should be expended for their 
benefit. 

We referred to the probability of the North Pacific Railroad coming 
along the Yellowstone, and that it might come upon their reservation; 
and we explained the necessity for a new location. for the agency build- 
ings, and offered to go with the agent and the Indians and select a new- 
location for it. The council lasted four days. A full report of it will be 
found in the accompanying documents. 

On the fifth day of the council, finding the Indians were not. likely 
soon to come to an agreement, for the purpose of inducing an immediate 
decision, we formally closed the council. 

Early the next morning all the chiefs and head-men came and ex- 
pressed a desire to sign the agreement. After ascertaining that they 
fully understood the articles of convention, the chairman said "you have 
come to tell us that you agree to the exchange of your present reserva- 
tion on the Yellowstone for Judith's Basin, and wish to agree to the 
paper." 

Iron Bull, Blackfoot, and all the chiefs said " yes, we all agree to it." 

The Indians having expressed an unwillingness to touch the pen in 
making their mark, thinking it was "bad luck" to do so, the chairman 
said " we wish you all to come, one at a time, and say "yes, or no," to 
the paper." We wish von to bring iu all the others, and they will say 
yes, or no, and then none who say " yes" can afterward say " we did 
not agree to it." 

The chiefs thought if they agreed to it, it was sufficient, as all the 
tribe would abide by their decision. 

But we insisted that all should approve or disapprove of it. 

They then came forward, and as each said "yes," his name was signed 
to the articles of convention. 

All agreed to it, except one head-man named "Crazy," who refused 
to express an opinion either way. 

Each, as he said yes, asked that they might be permitted to eat buf- 
falo for a long time, to which the commissioners responded "yes," as the 
Indians shook hands with them, respectively. Others asked for guns 
and horses ; many asked that Agent Pease might be retained. To all of 
their requests the commissioners answered that there was nothing in 
the paper about these things, and that they only said yes, to what was 
in the agreement, but told them when the young men went to Washing- 
ton, they could talk to "the Great Father" about giving them what 
they wished. 

The necessity for the ratification by Congress of the articles of con- 
vention it was difficult to have them understand, but it was explained 
to them as fully as possible during the council. We made no promises 
to the Indians other than those contained in the articles of convention, 
and no conference in regard to it was held by us with the chiefs, or 
other Indians, except in public council. 

The sessions of the council were all well attended, all the chiefs and 

head-men, and many Indian men and women, being present at every 

session : and we have every reason to think the action of the council 

ts with the almost unanimous approval of the Indians party to it. 



10 

The River ('rows will, we doubt not, approve of the action of those 
representing them, as they have always lived in the section of country 
now set apart as their reservation. 

In accordance with the desire expressed by all the Indians in couucil 
and elsewhere, we authorized Agent Pease to take to Washington eight 
Indians, chiefs and others, representing both the Mountain and River 
Crows, to be accompanied by one interpreter. We were the more will-* 
ing to take this action, for the reason that no member of the Crow tribe 
has ever been east, and their idea of " the white man's" power and civ- 
ilization is very meagre. Their steady friendship for the whites, whom 
they have always had every reason to suppose inferior to them in num- 
ber and power, we thought also merited some return. The trip to the 
east will, we doubt not, prove of lasting beneht to the tribe. 

The request made during and after the council, fur a present of 
horses, we did not feel at liberty to accede to, yet we have no hesitation, 
in recommending that such a present be made. At the time of making 
their former treaties, they have always been given horses, a present 
they prize above all others. In view of the advantages that will accrue 
to the Government from the arrangement entered into, and the fact 
that, while attending upon the sessions of the council, a large number 
of their horses were stolen, as well as in return for the friendship they 
have always exhibited for the whites, we would respectfully recommend 
that they be presented with one horse for each lodge or family. It is pre- 
sumed that funds appropriated for beneficial purposes tor the Crow tribe 
of Indians are available for this purpose. 

We would call special attention to the last clause of the articles of 
convention, in which it is agreed upon the part of the commissioners 
that, " pending action by Congress, the United States shall prevent all 
further encroachment upon the present reservation of the Crow tribe," 
and respectfully recommend that instructions be sent the agent to pre- 
vent all whites from passing over, settling upon, or residing in said 
territory, except such as are specially exempted by the treaty of 186S, 
and such others as are now engaged in mining in Emigrant Gulch ; 
that he be directed to prevent all exploring parties or individuals from 
entering upon flie reservation, and that any one engaged in hunting or 
trapping for game be arrested and turned over to the civil authorities. 

We also respectfully recommend that pending the action of Congress, 
the section of country described iu the first article of the articles of 
convention be, by order of the President, withdrawn iroin market and 
that it be declared not to be open for, or subject to, entry under the 
homestead or pre-emption laws. There are at present no settlers in any 
portion of this country, and this recommendation is made to prevent 
any such entering upon it, pending action by Congress. In case Con- 
gress should ratify the action of this commission, we would further re- 
spectfully recommend that agents of tribes, other than the Crows, be di- 
rected, as far as possible, to prevent them from hunting in Judith's 
Basin. 

That Congress be requested to define the penalty for wolfing or kill- 
ing game by means of poison in the section of country contiguous to 
the proposed reservation, as described iu article fourth of the articles 
of convention. 

That an appropriation be asked for the erection of agency buildings,* 
in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of 1S0S, and that a 
commission be appointed by the honorable Secretary of the Interior 
to locate the agency at a suitable place in the Judith Basin, as far 



11 

south as is practicable, keeping in view the necessity for wood, water, 
grass, and a sufficient body of tillable land susceptable of easy irriga- 
tion, and not so elevated as to render crops uncertain. 
Very respectfully submitted, 

FELIX R. BEUNOT, 
E. WHITTLESEY, 
JAMES WEIGHT, 

Commissioners. 
Thomas K. Cree, Secretary. 



Supplementary report by the chairman of the commission. 

Sir: In addition to the report of the Crow commission, prepared by 
the .secretary under the direction of my colleagues when en route from 
the agency and already in your hands, 1 have the honor to submit a 
brief explanation of the reasons influencing the commission in their 
negotiations. 

The official instructions seemed to. contemplate mainly the purchase 
of the western portion of the reserve, but your letter to the chairman 
was understood to leave a wider discretion with the commission. 

We found that the principal region already occupied by the miners 
was along Emigrant Gulch, extending thirty or forty miles east- 
wardly into the mountains from the western border of the reserve, and 
upon Clarke's Fork of the Yellowstone Eiver and that the prospectors 
were gradually extending their operations and could not long be pre- 
vented from over-running the entire mountain region bounded by 
Clarke's Fork and the Yellowstone Eiver. The Indians claimed the 
country around thQ heads of Clarke's Fork and the east branches of the 
Yellowstone in Wyoming Territory, and, although not upon the reserve, 
it was impossible to convince them that it had not been originally 
included. We also found that the topographical features of the coun- 
try were such as to admit of no dividing line, west of Pryor's Creek, 
which would be satisfactory either to the commission or the Indians: 
or which would not, if adopted, become, very soon, the cause of serious 
misunderstanding and contention between the whites and Indians. 

The portion of the reserve which lies east of Clarke's Fork, and in- 
cludes Pryor's Creek, is within the limits of the country claimed by the 
Sioux as their hunting grounds. It is constantly frequented by them 
in large bands for the purpose of lighting the Crows, and is the battle- 
ground upon which the two tribes often meet. 

The Sioux largely outnumber the Crows, and have even extended their 
raids against them to the present agency. To remove this friendly tribe 
to so close a proximity to their powerful enemies would be wrong, and 
would involve the necessity of a military fort and a considerable force 
for their protection, which would be costly and inexpedient. 

The commission further considered that the Northern Pacific Eailroad 
would be located for three hundred miles along the present reservation, 
and one or more roads already projected from the southward would pass 
through it, and that the valley of the Yellowstone, and the valleys 
of the many fine streams emptying into the south side of that river, 
affording some of the choicest lands in the West for cultivation and 
stock, would, when thus rendered accessible to the whites, be irrepres- 
sibly demanded for their use, and make the removal of the Crow Indians 
a necessity. 



12 

To anticipate this necessity while there yet remained unoccupied a 
more retired district of country suitable to their needs, and "which could 
be given to them, seemed of incalculable importance .to the future wel- 
fare of the Indians. Postponement of the selection of a proper location 
for a few years would probably leave no place for them but the cold 
and arid region north of the Missouri Elver. On the other side, it was 
considered that the peaceable release of the fine body of land included 
in the Crow reserve, already partially occupied, and the possession of 
which must soon seem a necessity, and the avoidance of future possible 
controversy and bloodshed between the whites and its proper owners, 
was of the greatest importance to the Government. 

The Judith Basin, lying out of the present and prospective line of 
migration, surrounded by a belt of mountains and barren lands desti- 
tute of valuable ores to attract their cupidity, and relatively inacces- 
sible to the whites, yet possessing within itself the necessary requisites 
for farming— land, grass, wood, and water — and not too large for the 
future needs of the Indians, seemed peculiarly adapted for the purpose 
of a reservation. 

The sum of money agreed to be invested for the Indians is a very 
moderate price for the quantity of land they relinquish. Probably a 
larger sum than the interest of the capital funded would in any event 
be required to be expended annually for their maintenance until they 
become self-supporting. Hence the ratification of the contract would 
involve no additional expenditure on the part of the Government. 

I desire in behalf of myself and colleagues to express our obliga- 
tions to Col. X. B. Sweitzer, commanding Fort Ellis, for facilities fur 
nished and efficient co-operation ; and to himself and to all the officers of 
the fort, for many personal courtesies and attentions; also to Agent 
P. D. Pease and the employes of the agency, for their zealous co-oper- 
ation. • 
Respectfully submitted, 

FELIX R. BRUXOT, 

Chairman of Commission. 

Pittsburgh, November 19, 1873. 

Hon. C. Delano, 

Secretary of the Interior. 



Articles of convention made and concluded on the sixteenth day of Au- 
gust, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy- 
three, at the Crow Agency, in the Territory of Montana, by and be- 
tween Felix R. Brunot, E. Whittlesey, and James Wright, commis- 
sioners in behalf of the United States, and the chiefs, head-men, and 
men representing the tribe of Crow Indians, and constituting a ma- 
jority of the adult male Indians belonging to said tribe. 
Whereas a treaty was made and concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota 
Territory, on the seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between commissioners on 
the part of the United States and the chiefs and head-men of and rep- 
resenting the Crow Indians, they being duly authorized to act iu the 
premises ; 

And whereas by an act of Congress, approved March 3, 1873, it is 
provided, " That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, au- 
thorized to negotiate with the chiefs and head-men of the Crow tribe of 



13 

Indians in the Territory of Montana for the surrender of their reserva- 
tion in said Territory, or of such part thereof as may be consistent with 
the welfare of said Indians: provided, that any such negotiation shall 
leave the remainder of said reservation in compact form, and in good 
locality for farming purposes, having within it a sufficiency of good 
land for farming, and a sufficiency for water and timber; and if there is 
upon said reservation a locality where fishing could be valuable to the 
Indians, to include the same if practicable; and the Secretary shall re- 
port his action, in pursuance of this act, to Congress at the next ses- 
sion thereof, for its confirmation or rejection." 

And whereas in pursuance of said act of Congress commissioners 
were appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to conduct the nego- 
tiation therein contemplated: 

The said commissioners on the part of the United States, and the 
chiefs, head-men, and men, constituting a majority of the adult males of 
the Crow tribe of Indians, in behalf of -their tribe, do solemnly make 
and enter into the following agreement, subject to the confirmation or 
rejection of the Congress of the United States, at the next session 
thereof: 

Article I. 

The United States agrees that the following district of country, to wit, 
commencing at a point on the Missouri River opposite to the mouth of 
Shankin Creek; thence up said creek to its head, and thence along the 
summit of the divide between the waters of Arrow and Judith Rivers 
and the waters entering the Missouri River, to a point opposite to the 
divide between the head-waters of the Judith River and the waters of 
the Muscle-Shell River; thence along said divide to the Snowy Mount- 
ains, and along the.summit of said Snowy Mountains, in a northeasterly 
direction, to a point nearest to the divide between the waters which run 
easterly to the Muscle-Shell River and the waters running to the Judith 
River; thence northwardly along said divide to the divide between the 
head- waters of Arnell's Creek and the head- waters of Dog River, and 
along said divide to the Missouri River ; thence up the middle of said 
river to the place of beginning, (the said boundaries being intended to 
include all the country drained by the Judith River, Arrow River, and 
Dog River,) shall be, and the same is, set apart for the absolute and un- 
disturbed use and occupation of the Indians herein named, and for such 
other friendly tribes or individual Indians as, from time to time, they 
may be willing, with the consent of the United States, to admit among 
them. And the United States now solemnly agrees that no person 
except those herein designated and authorized so to do, and except such 
officers, agents, and employes of the Government as may be authorized 
to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by 
law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the 
territory described in this article for the use of said Indians ; and the 
United States agrees to erect the agency and other buildings, and exe- 
cute all the stipulations of the treaty of Fort Laramie, (the said stipu- 
lations being hereby re-affirmed,) within the limits herein described, in 
lieu of upon the south side of the Yellowstone River. 

Article II. 

The United States agrees to set apart the sum of one million of dollars, 
and to hold the same in trust for the sole use and benefit of the Crow 



14 

tribe of Indians, the principal to be held in perpetuity, and the interest 
thereof to be expended, or re-invested at the discretion of the President 
of the United States, annually, for the benefit of said tribe. 

Article III. 

It is mutually agreed between the United States and the Crow In- 
dians that the second article of the treaty made at Fort Laramie, be- 
tween the commissioners of the United States and the Crow tribe of In- 
dians be, and the same is, abrogated by this agreement ; and the said 
Indians hereby cede to the United States all their right, title, and claim 
to the tract of country described in the said second article, to wit: 
"Commencing where the 107th degree of longitude west of Greenwich 
crosses the south boundary of Montana Territory ; thence north along 
said 107th meridian to the mid-channel of the Yellowstone River ; thence 
up said mid-channel of the Yellowstone to the point where it crosses 
the said southern boundary of Montana, being the 45th degree of north 
latitude; and thence east along said parallel of latitude to the place 
of beginning,' 7 and which is conveyed to them therein, except the right 
to hunt upon said lands so long as they may remain unoccupied, and as 
game may be found thereon and peace continues between the whites 
and Indians. 

Article IV. 

The United States agrees to suppress, so far as possible, by the im- 
position of pains and penalties, the practice of wolfing, or killing game 
by means of poison, within the limits of the following district of coun- 
try, viz : Beginning at the mouth of the Muscle-Shell River; thence up 
the said river to the North Fork, and up the North Fork to its source ; 
thence northward along the summit of the Little Belt and Higkwood 
Mountains to the head of Deep Creek ; thence down said creek to the 
Missouri River, and along the margin of said river to the place of be- 
ginning. 

It is expressly understood between the commissioners and the In- 
dians, parties thereto, that this agreement is subject to the ratification 
or rejection of the Congress of the United States at its next session, 
and that, pending the action of Congress, the United States shall pre- 
vent all further encroachments upon the present reservation of the Crow 
tribe. 

FELIX R. BRUNOT, 
E. WHITTLESEY, 
JAMES S. WRIGHT, 
Commissioners in behalf of the United States. 
Attest : 

Thomas K. Cree, 

Secretary. 

his 

Pierre + Shane, 

mark, 
his 

Mitch + Boyer, 

mark. 

Interpreters. 

Iron Bull, Che-ve-te-pu-ma-ta. 
Black Foot, Kam-ne-but-se. 





G > 







-* 




^- 




{' 




iori 

N PETERS, PH0TO-UTH0GR4PMER, WASHINGTON. C 



15 

Long Horse, E-cke-te-hats-ke. 

Skow-his-face, Iu-tee-us. 

Bear Wolf, Isa-auchbe-te-se. 

Thin Belly, Ella-causs-se. 

Good Heart, Uss-pit-ta-watse. 

Old Onion, Mit-hu-a. 

Bed Sides, Si-ta-pa-ruse. 

Crazy Head, A-su-ma-ratz. 

Ball Chief, Ise-la-mats-etts. 

Shot-in-the-jaw, Esa-woor. 

Lone Tree, Money-a-mut-eats. 

Jn-the-Morning, A-a-Seitz. 

Boy-that-grabs, Seeateots. 

White Forehead, E-seha-ehire. 

Small Waist, E-nene-pea-carts. 

Flat Side, Oos-tsoo-ch-seots. 

Old Dog, Bis-ca-earriers. 

The-Xest, Ish-shis-she-ess. 

I Jrazy-Sister-in-law, Ou-at-ma-ra-sach. 

The-Spider-that-Creeps, Ah-spe-di-ess. 

Crazy Pon De Orai, Minne-hu-ma-ra-ehac. 

Bull-goes-a-hunting, Oe-da-nu-ta-cass. 

Crane-in-the-Sky, A-pil-Mouse. 

Coon-Elk, Chin-ka-she-araehe. 

The Old Crow, Perits-har-sts. 

White Otter, Ma-pu-ku-he-te-te-suish. 

Long-Snake, Bi-ka-chehats-ki. 

White Mouth, Te-de-sil-se. 

Pock Mark, Te-spu-ke-he-te. 

The White Bull, Te-shu-net. 

The Xo Hand, Te-si-closst-so ish. 

The little Atelope, Uk-ha-nak-ish. 

Ourley, Ash-ish-ish-e. 

The Ridge, E. Xak-he-sash. 

Big Horse, Tc-le-si-ele-is-ash. 

Calf in the mouth, Xak-pak-a-e. 

Old Mountain Tail, A-mak-ha-viss-ish.- 

Bear in the water, Me-mum-ak hiss-is-e-ish. 

One Feather, Mash-u-a-mb-te. 

The Mix, Ma-ish-ish. 

Bed Bock, Mit-a-wosh. 

Xew Lodge, As-hi-haxh. 

The Bings, She-da-nat-sik. 

Well Bidl, Te-si-do-po mo. 

The Shaven, Bish-i-ish. 

The one who hunts his debt, Ash-e-te-si-Oish. 

One who hears good, Ma-in-ke-ku-te-sit sine. 

The Burnt, Osb-Msh. 

Bear Robe, Acb-je-it-se-is. 

The River, A-ash-ish. 

Big Forehead, Ak-hi es-ash. 

The one who knows the bull, Te-se-do-pe-e-a-te-sa. 

Big Kettle, Bi-rc-ke hi-tash. 

Chief Wolf, Xo-it-a-ma-te-sets. 

The Leg, Te-tu-se-pe. 

The man who sits in the middle of the ground, A-ive-ku-a-ta-misb. 



16 

Blinkey, Bish-te-ha-nio-te-te. 

One who sees all over the land, A-we-ko-to-e-ka. 

Bull all the time, Te-si-doss-ko-te-so-te. 

Plenty of Bear, A-che-pil-se-a-hush. 

Bides behind a man on horseback, Ma-ine-ri-ke-ish. 

Bird off the ground, Ma-pe-she-ri. 

Charge through the camp, Ash-e-ri-i-a-was-sash. 

The old Bear, Ak-hi-pit-se-u-ke-ki-ke-ish. 

Crazy Wolf, Te-se-te-man-ache. 

The Plume, Te-se-do-ine-sku-she-ish. 

Old Alligator, Bo-ru-ke-he-sa-cha-ri-ish. 

Bob-tail Bear, Ak-hi-pilse-u-ke-hi-ke-ish. 

Pole Cat Look behind, Te-spit-te-sash. 

Wolf Bow, Te-sets-sha-tak-ke. 

The Sioux that runs fast, Ak-inan-ash-u-pe -yeu-hu-she. 

Little Soldier. The one who hunts his enemy. 

Bull Bock. PrettvLodge. Herd the Horses. 

Three AVolf. Stray Horse. 

We, the undersigned, were present at and witnessed the assent of the 
Crow chiefs, head men, and men of the ('row tribe of Indians, whose 
names are attached thereto. 

THOMAS K. CREE, 
Secretary Special Crow Commission. 

C. W. HOFFMAN, 
B. W. CBOSS, 
I. M. CASTNER, 
F. GIESDORF, 
F. D. PEASE, 
Agent for Crow Indians. 

The undersigned were present at the council with the Crow Indians, 
and witnessed the proceedings. The agreement was carefully explained 
and was fully understood and assented to by the Indians. 

GEO. L. TYLER, 

Cajrtain '2nd U. S. Cavalry. 

CHARLES F. ROE. 

Jjivnt. 2nd C. 8. Cavalry. 

We, the undersigned members of the Crow tribe of Indians, were 
not at the agency at the time of the council, but after having the arti- 
cles of convention fully explained to us, do hereby give our assent to 
the same : 

The Deaft Medicine Chicken. 

Crooked Face. Long Hour. 

Little Face. ("row Head. 

Split Ear. ' Arm in his neck. 

Small Boy. Small Bear. 

White Bull. White Otter. 

The Sergeant. School Teacher. 

The Blind. White Calf. 

Chief Bull. Hull on top of the mountain. 

The Bravo. Big Pond. 

Eats a horse. The Magpie. 



17 



Pretty Bird. 
The Gooseberry. 
Musk Rat. 
Shoots well. 

Young one in the mouth. 
Sitting Weasel. 
Pretty Robe. 
Four Chiefs. 
Sharp blade sword. 
The Deer. 
Cloudy Forehead. 
The Knife. 
Black Fare 
Long Fingers. 
Blind Horse. 
Flying Eagle. 
Calf Woman. 
Pretty BuU. 
Black Dog. 
The Winking Eye. 
Young Horse. 
Sewed Side. 
Pretty Prisoner. 
Kill the Chief. 
Plenty Elkhorses. 
Boy Chief, Taboo. 
The Buffalo. 
Bad Snow. 
Old Cloud. 
Yellow Fender. 
The Swan. 
Pretty Side. 
Yellow Bull. 
Sharp Nose. 
Crooked Nose. 
The Coat. 
Bear From Below. 
The Hair. 
The Weasel. 
Two Tails. 
Pounded Meat. 
Sister to Crazy. 
The Dumb. 
The Pipe. 
Yellow Horse. 
Tiger Woman. 
Iron Neck. 
Medicine Rock. 
The Shell. 
Splendid Leg. 
White Head. 
Old Saddle. 

The River Bull Woman. 
Shell-in-the-Year. 
Good Beard. 
Little Whetstone. 
2c 



Otter that knows. 
Bird Woman. 
Old Blackbird. 
White Dog. 
Pretty Gun. 
Plenty head gear. 
Two Lances. 
Small Bull. 
The Black Bird. 
Fat Elk. 
Green Meadow. 
Old Kettle. 
Burnt Arm. 
Buffalo Calf. 
Brown Beaver. 
Small Pony. 
Tall Pine. 
Diving Otter. 
Friendly Beaver. 
Jack Sheppard. 
The Throat. 
Flat Back. 
Black Foot's Son. 
The Red. 
The Twin. 
Yellow Top. 
Raw-Hide. 
Plenty Head. 
Little Wolf. 
Rotten Tail. 
Red Fox. 
The Onion. 
Half Yellow Face. 
Dog Eye. 

Afraid-of-his Eyes. 
Little Son. 
Yellow Tobacco. 
Iron Necklace. 
Small Wolf. 
Gray Head. 
Yellow Head. 
Pretty Eagle. 
No Heart. 
Red Beard. 
Blue Moccasin. 
Young Wolf. 
No Hand. 
The Otter. 
Show his Face. 
Dirty Head. 
Takes the Shield. 
Two Hours 
The Blind Bull. 
White Swan. 
Hides-his-Face. 



18 



We, the undersigned members of the Crow tribe of Indians, who were 
at the agency during the sitting of the council, but were not present 
when the articles of convention were assented to, hereby give our assent 
to them. 



Bear Head. 

Black Head. 

Shake-his-Tail. 

Poor Elk. 

Big-Ball. 

Old Tiger. 

The Island. 

Old Man. 

Picket Pin. 

Old Tobacco. 

Hole-in-the-Forehead. 

Crazy Head. 

Iron Feather. 

Bed Fox. 

Bird in the Neck. 

The Buffalo. 

Medicine Bock. 

Crooked Eve. 

Prettv Bear. 

Old Liar. 

Kills Quick. 

Smart Boy, Great Hunter. 



Bad Hand, Blue Leggings. 

Ugly Face 

Back Bone. 

The Panther. 

Sitting Bull. 

Little Iron. 

Fish Catcher. 

Horse Guard. 

Scabbed Bull. 

The Chicken. 

Strong-bv-Him-self. 

The TaH. 

Long Neck. 

Spotted Tail. 

Yellow Top. 

Crane in the Sky. 

Big Nose. 

Yellow Leggings. 

Mountain Pocket. 

Old Cloud. 

Old Kettle. 

Bed Face. 

"Witness : 

Ms 

PlEKKE -f SlIAXE, 

Mark. 

Interpreter. 

I certify on honor that the above names were appended as stated. 

F. D. PEASE. 

Narrative of the Proceedings of the Special Commission. 

Hon. Felix B. Brunot, chairman of fhe special commission to negotiate 
with the Crow tribe of Indians under act of Congress of March 3, 1873, 
accompanied by Thomas K. Cree as secretary, arrived at Bozeman July 7. 

Arranged with Agent Pease to have the Mountain and Biver Crows 
brought to the agency as soon as possible. 

July 28. General E. Whittlesey, of Washington, and Dr. James 
Wright, late Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana, members of 
the commission, arrived at Bozeman. 

Aug. 30. A conference of the commission was held at Fort Ellis. 
The chairman read the letter of the honorable Secretary of the Interior, 
dated May 14, authorizing the commission, and the letter of the honora- 
ble Commissioner of Indian Affairs, of May 29, giving instructions for the 
guidance of the commission in its negotiation with the Crows. Also, 
the treaty at Fort Laramie, made with the Crows May 7, 1868. 

The commission had a free conference in regard to the objects sought 
to be attained. 

Having learned that the parties sent out for the Mountain Crow 
Indians, after thirty-three days' absence had found them, and had re- 



19 

ported that they were en route for the agency, and that a portion of the 
River Crows had already arrived, the commission decided to leave for 
the agency the next day. 

July 30. Left for the Crow Agency. Arrived at 9.30 p. m. Blackfoot 
and a few of the principal men who had come in from the camp were 
waiting to see the commission. 

Aug. 1. This morning some twenty of the prominent chiefs, under 
Blackfoot, called to pay a formal visit to the commissioners. They 
came in singing a song of welcome " to the commissioners from the 
Great Father," and, after shaking hands and embracing the great 
white chiefs, the following conversation occurred : 

Mr. Brunot. We are very glad to see you. We have been waiting 
for some time at Bozeman. We want to see all the Crows. The Great 
Father sent us and told us to talk with all of you. We want to know 
where your camp is, and when all will be in. 

Blackfoot. They are camped on the Yellowstone at the mouth of 
Alder Creek, about forty miles away. 

Mr. Brunot. How many days is that away '! 

Blackfoot. We can't tell how many nights ; six or seven, perhaps. 

Mr. Brunot. That is a long time for us to wait. 

Blackfoot. Our horses are poor, it is warm weather and the horses 
have given out; all the streams are high and hard to cross; they sent us 
men ahead to meet you. Last summer you came and sent to see the 
tribe, but before we got here you had gone. This time I came ahead 
because I wanted to see you. 

Mr. Brunot. If they come as soon as they can we will wait. Can the 
camp be here in five nights ? 

Blackfoot. I do not think they can get here so soon. Do not be in a 
hurry ; we want to see you. The streams are high, and our horses poor, 
but we will come as soon as possible. 

Mr. Brunot. I waited a long time for you last summer, and the Great 
Father was sorry you did not come. It is a long journey from Washing- 
ton ; it would take six months on a horse to go there, and now that we 
are here we want to see you, and if the camp comes as fast as it can we 
will wait. 

Blackfoot. To-morrow I will go to the camp, and bring them as soon 
as I can. We do not know how long it will take, but we will bring them 
as soon as we can ; we did tell them that you were in a hurry. 

Mr. Brunot. That is well. 

Blackfoot. You have sent for us ; we had not gotten skins enough, 
and were not through our hunt, but we came at once. 

Mr. Brunot. How many lodges have you? 

Blackfoot. We do not know how many ; there are about 100 lodges, 
but some are Biver Crows, Bannocks, and Nez Perces. 

Mr. Brunot. Where did you meet the Sioux ? 

Blackfoot. Across Prior's Creek, about twenty miles, at the foot of 
Prior's Mountain, we met the Cheyennes and Sioux. They were coming 
this way ; they were a big party. The most of them did not come to 
tight, but a small party met and fought us, and we killed one of the 
Sioux. From there we weut after them. We had plenty of ammunition 
and were friends of the white men, and we followed them down the 
Big Horn. There is a large party at Fort Smith ; when they found Ave 
were coming they went back. The Big Horn was too high for us 
to cross, or we would have followed them and driven them from 
the country. On Warm Spring Creek, across the Big Horn, we 
fought and whipped them, but could not get over the river after 



20 

them. The Crow soldiers wanted to cross, but the camp could not 
go without danger of drowning some of our people and ponies, but 
we sent scouts, and they brought back horses taken from the Sioux 
camp. The Sioux camp was between the Big Horn and LittleHorn; 
we sent six of our men ; they brought twelve Sioux horses. When 
they came back we sent two more. They found a Sioux out hunting ; 
they killed and scalped him and got his horse ; whe*i they came back 
they found us camped at Pompey's Pillar. 

Three Kez Pcrces went out from there and took five horses and mules 
from the Sioux. We sent two more men ; the Sioux camp was at the 
mouth of the Little Horn; it was a big camp; five rows of tepees. They 
got some horses, and shot into the Sioux tents. From Pompey's Pillar 
we came to Prior Creek, and there Boyer (the messenger) found us. 
He came through near the Sioux camp, and just afterward we had the 
fight with the Sioux — -just at the mouth of Prior Creek. The party was 
so large they came right up to our camp and attacked us. The big val- 
ley on Prior's Creek was full of Sioux Indians. Boyer will tell you the 
same. The white men who were with us took their guns and went out 
with us to fight the Sioux. 

Another party went from Prior Creek after the Sioux. When we came 
to the Stinking Water three of them had been killed. 

We knew you great white men who were coming from the " Great 
Father " to see us would hear whether we whipped the Sioux or not. 
We began to fight when the sun got up ; we fought them till noon, 
when the Sioux began to run ; we followed them to Fly Creek, nearly 
sixty miles. 

The Sioux must have good white-men friends on the Platte and Mis- 
souri. They get guns and ammunition ; they are better armed than we 
are ; they have Winchester, Henry, and Spencer rifles and needle-guns. 
We took some of these guns from those we killed ; we took two Henry 
rifies and one needle-gun ; they threw away their blankets and saddles, 
and we got a number of them ; they threw away their ammunition. 
Their outfit was better than ours. We got Needle, Spencer, and Win- 
chester cartridges, and powder and balls from them. The Great Father 
does not know that the Sioux get these arms and ammunition and then 
they kill white men with them. The Crows do not kill white men ; the 
arms and ammunition we get is to hunt with, and defend ourselves and 
our white friends with. 

When the fight was over we intended to go to Heart Mountain, where 
buffalo were plenty, and get skins for our lodges, but we did not go then. 

We came here to shake hands with you; and we want you to think 
well of the Crows. We mean to do right, and we will listen to what 
you say to us. We want you to know how the Sioux trouble us. There 
are many Sioux, but we are not afraid of them. They want to come on 
our land; but we intend to keep them off. I love you and hold on to 
your hand, but the Sioux we want to fight. We will stay here to-day, 
and to-morrow we will go to the camp. Too many of us cannot leave 
the camp at one time for fear of the Sioux. 

Even at the agency we watch for the Sioux. We brought a good 
many guns with us, and the camp is short that many. The Sioux want 
to get our country, but we will not let them have it. 

Mr. Brunot. The Great Father does not give the Sioux any guns. 
I do not know where they get them. We know the Crows are our friends ; 
that is the reason we come here; and we want you always to continue 
our friends ; what we say is for yoivr good. I have to go to see the 
Utes after I leave here. The Ute chief met me on the way. He heard 
what the Great Father wanted them to do, and they are going to do it; 



21 

and so with nearly all the Indians, they are going- to do as the President 
wishes them. 

After awhile, if the Sioux do not do as the President wants, he will 
make them do it. Since the President's war is over he has plenty of 
soldiers, and he intends to make everybody — red men, white men, and 
black men — do what is right. He is going to make them all do it, 
whether they want it or not; but he does not think the Crows want any 
soldiers, for they are his friends and will do what is right. 

Is Long Horse with the camp ? I saw him last year. 

Blackfoot. Yes; his brother was killed in the tight. 

Mr. Brunot. We came in a wagon, and could not carry any pres- 
ents with us, but we want you to have dinner with us. How many 
chiefs are here? 

Blackfoot. Twenty-two Mountain-Crow men, and nine Eiver Crows. 

Mr. Brunot. We want the Mountain Crows to-day, and the River 
Crows to-morrow. 

Blackfoot. The River Crows belong to me, and I want you to treat us 
all alike. 

Mr. Brunot. This is our dinner, and we want you all to come to-day. 

Blackfoot. Are there any cattle above the canon on the river ? 

Mr. Brunot. Yes ; I saw them there. Those cattle are on the wrong 
side of the river. 

Major Pease. They ought all be taken off, and the miners too. I 
ordered the herders to move the cattle further up, or else across on the 
other side of the river. 

Mr, Brunot. Major Pease has ordered them to take the cattle away. 
The country up there is not goad for much; there are many mountains. 

Blackfoot. The country is good, and we like it. It is our country, and 
we know it is good. 

Mr. Brunot. I know it is your country. Where is the best country you 
know of for Indians to live on ". 

Blackfoot, (after much discussion.) Why did you ask that question 7 

Mr. Brunot. I want the Crows to have the best country, and I want to 
know where it is. I do not want any of your country for myself. 

Blackfoot. I am going to tell you, but we are not ready yet. We have 
land we like very much, and we will tell you about it when our people 
come in. 

Mr. Brunot. Some places the white men are in already; other places 
they are going in ; and we want to find a good place that we can keep 
always tor the Crows. 

Blackfoot. Do not be too fast ; wait till all are here. When the rest 
come in we will tell you our mind. 

Mr. Brunot. You will come for dinner, and then you will go and bring 
the camp. 

Aug. 8. The Indians arrived to-day. They had been detained by 
fights with the Sioux, and by sickness in the camp, quite a number 
having died while en route for the agency; Iron Bull and Blackfoot, the 
two principal chiefs being sick ; and Long Horse, an important chief, 
being in mourning for his brother, who was killed by the Sioux. 

Arrangements were made for a council to-morrow. 

Aug. 9. Provisions were issued to-day, taking from 10 o'clock till 
5, after which the Indians declined to come into council on account of 
the chiefs being; sick and the hour too late. 

Respectfully submitted. 

THOMAS K. CREE, Secretary. 

To the Special Crow Commission. 



22 

report of the council. 

Crow Agency, Montana Territory, 

August 11, 1873. 

A council was held with the Crow Indians this morning. There were 
present Hon. Felix E. Brunot, chairman of the Board of Indian Commis- 
sioners; General E. Whittlesey, of Washington, and James Wright, late 
Superintendent of Indian affairs for Montana, as a special commission 
under act of Congress of March 3, 1873, to negotiate with the Crow In- 
dians, with Thomas K. Cree as secretary. There were present, by invi- 
tation of the commission, General Sweitzer, commandant at Fort Ellis; 
Captain Tyler, and Lieutenant Eowe, of Company F, 2nd cavalry ; Dr. 
Lightfoot, surgeon U. S. A. ; Major Pease, agent for the Crows ; Kel- 
son Story, esq., of Bozeman, Charles Hoffman, esq., and Mr. Cross, 
traders ; several of the employes of the agency, and the following In- 
dian chiefs and sub-chiefs : 

Of the Mountain Crows— Iron Bull, Black-Foot, Thin Belly, Bear Wolf, 
Show-his-face, Good Heart, Shot-in-the-jaw, Crazy, Bear-in-the-water, 
Bull-goes-huntiug, Crane-in-the-sky, Crazy-sister-in-law, Crazy-head, 
Long Horse, Old Crow, White Calf, Bed Side, Onion, White Mouth, Bird- 
iu-tke-neck, Spotted Tail, Poor Elk, Little Iron, Chief Bull, Old Bog, Bell- 
rock, Along-the-ridge. 

Elver Crows — Little Soldier, Wolf's Bow, Hunts his-enemy, Boiling 
Leggin, White Bock, Black Bull, Cranberry, Bear-head, Poor Assina- 
boine, and many others. 

In opening the council Mr. Brunot said : 

Before we talk about business I want General Whittlesey to ask the 
Great Spirit to look into our hearts and make them all good. 

General Whittlesey lediu prayer, asking that God would guide the com- 
missioner and the Indians in the deliberations of the council, and lead 
each right. 

Mr. Brunot said : I am glad to meet all my friends here now. I was 
sorry I could not see you when I came here last summer. I came then 
to hear what you had to say about yourselves, and to talk to you of 
what I thought was good for you. I have now come again, and am very 
glad to see you. My heart is good to you, and I hope you are all well 
to-day, [many had been sick.] The Great Father sent some words to 
you when I started to come, and he sent these two gentlemen with me 
to see you. He told us there was a new general at Fort Ellis, and he 
also has come to see you. Another man, Mr. Cree, comes with us to 
write down all that is said by the white men and the Indians. I want 
you to speak wise words, because they will go to the Great Father. 
These gentlemen are all glad to see you, and they wish me tell you so. 
The Great Father has heard many things from this country ; some tell 
him one thing, some another. I see with my own eyes many things 1 
will tell him when I go back. I know he thinks the Crows are all his friends, 
and he wishes to do what is good for you ; and w T hen he told us to come 
and tell the Crows what he thinks is best for you, it is because he cares 
for you. I want you to know that every word I say to you comes from 
my heart. I would not say a bad thing for my own child, nor would I 
for you, and all I say you will see is true. The Great Father knows that 
the Crow Indians made a treaty at Fort Laramie. I was not there, nor 
the Great Father, but he sent commissioners there, and some of your 
chiefs were there ; but the treaty is printed, and he gave us this printed 
paper. It says, " This is the treaty made at Fort Laramie." I hold it in 
my hand; it has some chiefs' names signed to it. The names are: 



23 

Pretty Bull, Wolf Bow, Mountain Tail, Black Foot, White Horse, 
Poor Elk, Shot-in-the-jaw, White Forehead, Pounded Meat, Bird-in- 
the-neck,and The Swan. These are the names of the chiefs that signed the 
paper. That treaty says where the Crow land is to be. I think it is a 
good country. It is along this river about seventy-five miles above the 
agency, and then goes toward where the sun rises uutil it crosses the 
Big Horn, and goes half way between it and the mouth of the Rose-bud 
River, about twelve miles this side of Porcupine Creek. This is what 
the treaty and the map say. That is the country that belongs to you for- 
ever, or until you wish to sell it. Now, the country across the river, where 
you go to hunt buffalo, the treaty says you can go to while the buffalo 
are there; but when the game is gone away from there that is all to be 
white man's land. The Great Father has heard that the country south- 
west of here is not of much use to the Crows, and that the whites are 
going into it. I have seen some of it along the river, and I think it 
is very good; but some of it is very rocky aud mountainous. It is 
good only for people who wish to hunt gold. I have seen white people 
going past the reservation to Clark's Fork ; I am sorry to see them going 
there. I do not want to see white people go upon Indian land so long 
as it belongs to the Indians and they want to keep it. The Great Father 
at Washington does not want whites to go upon land that belongs to 
the Indians. He has heard that the whites have gone there, and he 
thought, to prevent any more trouble, that the best thing for the In- 
dians to do was to sell that land. So last winter, when the Great Fath- 
er's council came together and heard about these white people being 
on the Indian's land, they passed a law to send out men to ask you 
whether you would sell these lands. This law says — 

That the Secretary of the Interior ho, and he is hereby, authorized to negotiate with 
the chiefs and head-men of the Crow tribe of Indians in the Territory of Montana, for 
the surrender of their reservation in said Territory, or of such part thereof as may 1>o 
consistent with the welfare of said Indians: Provided, That airy such negotiation shall 
leave the remainder of said reservation in compact form and in good locality for farm- 
ing purposes, having within it a sufficiency of good land for farming and a sufficiency 
for water and timber ; and if there is upon such reservation a locality where tishiug 
could he valuable to the Indians, to include the same if practicable ; and the Secretary 
shall report his action in pursuance of this act of Congress at the next session thereof, 
for its confirmation or rejection. 

He says the men must not buy anything from the Indians if it is not 
good for you to sell it. The Indians must keep plenty of land for them- 
selves and their children to live on. The land they keep must be good 
for them to farm and must have a good place for an agency, and it must be 
good for them. That is one thing the Great Father told us to say to the 
Crows, and it is for you to think about. This treaty, after awhile, comes 
to an end. You always have the land, but in thirty years the annuity 
goods stop. It says all who stay upon the reservation must be fed for 
four years. I am sorry it is not longer, but that is what the treaty says. 
Suppose the white men continue to come into the mines ; they get too 
numerous, and after awhile there may be trouble between them and the 
Indians. I hope the trouble will never come. I want, as long as I live, 
if I choose to come here, to have the Crows take me by the hand and 
know I am their friend. When many men think one way and many 
think another way, it is best to talk it over and see if all will not come 
to think alike. I think this is best. The Crows do not care about 
digging in the mines. It would not be good for you to do so. If you 
can sell to the Great Father the piece of laud that has the mines upon 
it, he will put away the money and for it send useful things to you every 
year. That is what I want you to think about. The Great Father is 



24 

making an iron road that is coming along the river. It will make it 
very easy to bring tilings to the Crows and the people wlio live in this 
country. Sometimes the Great Father sends the goods to the Indians ; 
they start them in the spring, but they do not get here until the next 
spring. They ought to come before you go upon your fall hunt, that you 
may have everything with you. When the railroad is done the goods 
will come quick. Perhaps he will make the railroad on the other side 
of the river, perhaps on this side ; I do not know which. This side is 
Crow land. You can say whether you want it on your land or not. You 
can think about that. If you sell a part of your land you must have a 
better place than this for an agency. We want to help you pick out 
the place. You will think about that, too. I have said enough ; now I 
want hear you talk. 

Several Indians here came forward and presented buffalo-robes, and 
two presented pledges, each representing a horse, to the members of the 
commission. 

The commissioners demurred at accepting the presents, but were as- 
sured that the Indians would be offended if they were refused. 

The commissioners then accepted them, bat afterward gave them 
away to needy Indians. 

Mr. Brunot. I have been to see many tribes of Indians. I go to 
see them because I want to do them good. Some places the men, to 
show that they are my friends, bring me something which they wish to 
give me. I always tell them I do not come to get anything from 
them ; that I have plenty myself, and I do not want to take anything 
that is of use to them, and now the 'Crows have come and to show that 
your hearts are good to us you have given us these robes. I have let 
you do so because it is your way, and I do not want to do anything but 
what is kind and right. 

Blackfoot. When we see our friends we give presents to each other. 
My Father comes and sees me ; he gives me something and I take it. We 
give you something and you ought to take it. 

Mr. Brunot. A long time ago when men wanted to get anything 
from the Indians they brought a great many presents. It was because 
they wanted to get something away from them. If I come to the Crows 
and bring you a lot of presents you will think I want to get something 
away from you. (To the whites : We prefer that what is said should go 
to the Indians through the interpreter, and we do not want others who 
talk their language to talk with them about what is said.) 

Old Crow. I give you a present. We want you to take the sickness 
away from us. 

Blackfoot. You call the Great Spirit Jesus in your language; we call 
him in the Crow language E-so-we-wat-se. I am going to light the pipe and 
talk to the Great Spirit. (He lightedthepipe, and, lookingup reverently, 
said :) "The Great Spirit has made the red man and the white man, and. 
sees all before Him to-day. Have pity upon us ! May the white man and 
the Indian speak truth to each other to-day. The sun that looks down 
upon us to-day, and gives us light and heat, sees that our hearts are 
true, and that what we do is good for the poor red man. The moon, 
that shines on us in the night-time, will see us prosper and do well. 
The earth, on which we walk, from which we come, and which we love as 
our mother — which we love as our country — we ask thee to see that we 
do that which is good for us and our children. This tobacco comes from 
the whites ; we mix it with bark from the Indian trees and burn it to- 
gether before Thee, oh Great Spirit! So may our hearts and the hearts 
of the white men no out together to Thee and be made good and right." 



25 

As lie involved the Great Spirit, the earth, &c, the pipe was rever- 
ently held in the direction of each, and, after this, was presented to 
the commissioners and then to the chiefs to smoke, after which cere- 
mony Blackfoot said: 

Blackfoot. I am going to have a long talk with yon. My Great Father 
sent our friends to see us, We see each other; that is good. You 
came here last summer; we were sent for to see you. We were back of 
the mountains when we heard of you, but high waters and the mount- 
ains prevented our coming. You said you did not see us, and you 
were sorry for it. We could not come any faster. This summer we 
were on this side, near the Yellowstone, where we were getting skins to 
make lodges. In the fall the traders will want our robes. We will then 
go over the Yellowstone to Judith's Basin to hunt. Since I was a boy 
1 recollect that is what the Crows always did. When the Crows meet 
a friend they always give him something; so we do with you. You say 
you have a Book that tells about the Great Spirit. We always give 
the Great Spirit something. I think that is good. We see the sun, we 
give him something; and the moon and the earth, we give them some- 
thing. We beg them to take pity on us. The sun and moon look at 
us, and the ground gives us food. You come and see us, and that is 
why we give you something. We are men like each other; our religion 
is different from yours. 

The old folks are dying off; then who will own the land? 

I went to Fort Laramie ; the old Indians signed the treaty. We 
came back to the camp and told the young men, and they said we had 
done wrong and they did not want to have anything to do with it. 
They said, " We love the Great Father, and hold on to the hands of our 
white friend. All the other Indian tribes tight the whites ; we do not do 
so. We love the whites, and we want them to leave us a big country." 

All the other Indians go and talk with the Great Father; you 
take them to Washington; they are bad; they hide their hearts; but 
they talk good to the Great Father, and you do more for them than 
for us. This I want to tell you ; yesterday you spoke to us and we 
listened to you. If you wish to have peace with all the Indians get 
them all together and make peace with them. Then I will make peace 
with them, too. 

The Great Spirit made these mountains and rivers for us, and all this 
land. We were told so, and when we go down the river hunting for 
food we come back here again. We cross over to the other river, and 
we think it is good. Many years ago the buffalo got sick and died, and 
Mr. Maldron gave us annuity goods, and since then they have given us 
something every year. The guns you give us we do not point at the 
whites. We do not shoot our white friends. We are true when we 
look in your face. On our hands is no white man's blood. When you 
give us arms to go and fight the Sioux we fight them to keep our lands 
from them. AVhen we raise our camp and go for buffalo some white 
men go with us; they see what we are doing; they see that we jump 
over the places that are bloody. On the other side of the river below, 
there are plenty of buffalo; on the mountains are plenty of elk and 
black-tail deer, and white-tail deer are plenty at the foot of the mount- 
ain. All the streams are full of beaver. In the Yellowstone River 
the whites catch trout; there are plenty of them. The white men give 
us, food; we know nothing about it. Donotbe in a hurry; when we are 
poor, we will tell you of it. At Laramie we went to see the commis- 
sioners. Xow commissioners come to see us, and we listen to what you 
say. The commissioners told us at Laramie if we remained good friends 



26 

of the whites we would be taken care of for forty years. Since we made 
that treaty it is only five years. You are in a hurry to quit giving- us 
food. I am a young man yet; my teeth are all good. They told us at 
Laramie we would get food till we were old, and our children after us. 
This is not the place for the agency, on this point of rocks. We would 
like to know who built the agency here. They told us they would give 
us our food. They promised to send a good agent and good traders, and 
if they were not good they would be taken away. Pease never treated 
us wrong; the young men and the children he always treated right; all 
that was sent for us he gave us; he was not a thief; he treated us well, 
and we do not want him to go away from us. On Sheep Mountain white 
men come; they are my friends ; they marry Crow women, they have 
children with them; the men talk Crow. When we come from hunting 
we get off at their doors, and they give us something to eat. We like it. 
We raised Shane, [the interpreter ;] he was a boy when he came here. 
You ask us what we have to say, and that is what we tell you. Here 
is the doctor; when our people are sick he doctors them. He has two 
children by a Crow woman ; we like him. Here are our traders ; when 
we go hunting they give us ammunition ; they gave me a revolver to 
kill buffalo. We do not know anything about Cross , [a new tra- 
der;] we do not know his face. We want the soldiers at Ellis to take 
the part of the Crows. When they come here to see the giving 
of annuity goods we give them robes to take with them, and when 
they hear bad talk about the Crows we want them to speak well 
of us. When we camp here some of the whites run off with 
our horses into the mountains. We know about it, but we do not say 
anything. We have a strong heart, as firm as a rock, and we say noth- 
ing about it, but you want to hear what we have to say and I tell you. 
In Gallatin valley the Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Sioux made a raid and 
the people blamed the Crows with it. We w T ant them to quit speaking 
bad about us. On the Missouri Eiver the whites have married into all 
the different Indian tribes ; their brothers-in-law, the white men, come 
here and steal our horses. We follow them and find who have them. 
Some of the Crows went to the Missouri Eiver and got some Crow horses. 
The white people sent word they were their horses, and we sent them all 
back. We claim our horses, but they are not brought back. 

When we set up our lodge poles, one reaches to the Yellowstone ; the 
other is on White river ; another one goes to Wind Eiver ; the other lodges 
on the Bridger mountains. This is our land and so we told the Commis- 
sioners at Fort Laramie, but all kinds of white people come over it, and 
we tell you of it, though we say nothing to them. On this side of the 
Yellowstone there is a lake ; about it are buffalo. It is a rich country ; 
the whites are on it; they are stealing our quartz; it is ours, but we 
say nothing to them. The whites steal a great deal of our money. We 
do not want them to go into our country. We would like needle guns, to 
get game and fight the Sioux ; this we tell you. 

Mr. Brunot. Blackfoot says he wants the soldiers to speak well of the 
Crows. I will tell him what took place last summer. When I came here 
white men in the Gallatin valley told me the Crows had killed two white 
men and took their horses. I did not believe it, but I wanted to find 
out. I went to the soldiers and asked them about it. They said it was 
not the Crows. So the soldiers did speak for the Crows, and as long as 
the Crows do well the soldiers are their friends. Afterwards I found 
out who killed the men and took the horses ; it was Arapahoes and Chey- 
ennes. I wrote a letter to tell the governor who it was. I think he will 
put it in the newspapers and everybody will know that it was not the 



27 

Crows. Blackfoot says the white people arc digging in the mountains, 
taking away your gold. I know that myself. I saw them go there. I 
told them it was not right. The Great Father has heard about it, and he 
has said the Crows had better let the people have the gold and he will pay 
you for the land. The Crows have done well. You have not hurt the 
white people who are on the reservation and in the mines, and you tell 
us you are the white man's friends. The Great Father does not want any 
of these whites to hurt the Crows. He says for us to tell the Crows that 
if you let the white people have the land he will give you things you 
need, for many years. I have been looking about over your reservation. 
I see you do not go much where the mines are. I think it would be good 
for you to let the white people have the land, and the Great Father for 
many years will give you what you need for yourselves and your chil- 
dren. I do not want this on account of the people who are on your land, 
but I think it will be good for you and your children. It is your land, 
ami you can do what you please with it. If you want to keep it, I have 
nothing to say, but I think it would be good for you to sell it. 

Blackfoot said he went to Laramie, and, when he came back, the young 
men did not agree to what he said. I do not want that to occur again. 
Whatever the chiefs do, I Avant the young men to know all about it, and 
to agree to it, and then no one can say it was wrong. You must think 
about this and be sure you are right. It is your business ; it concerns 
you and you must do what you think is best. If you decide to sell the 
land from Clark's Fork to the Yellowstone, we will talk about what the 
Great Father must give you for it. If you do not want to sell so much, 
you can fix some other line. That you will think about yourselves and 
will tell me what you think. 

Blackfoot. I do not want whites to go to Heart Mountain. 

Mr. Brtjnot. The upper part of Clark's Fork is not on the reserva- 
tion. 

Blackfoot. I do not care so much about the part on the Yellowstone 
and in the mountains, but above, in the valley, it is good. I am going to 
tell you I treat my friends good. When you speak to me, I say, yes! 
yes ! Along the Muscle Shell and Teton Mountains is Judith Basin. 
Many men go into that country wolfing; they kill game. We thought 
when we saw them, that white men are giving us food ; when we have 
to buy what we want, they will be ashamed when they see us. When 
we have a friend we take him to our tepes. We give him a robe to cover 
himself. When we meet a wolf er, if he is poor, we give him a pair of 
pants and moccasins, or a blanket. We shake hands with him and send 
him away all right. We would like them to quit wolfing ; there are get- 
ting to be too many of them, and we want them to quit. (The commis- 
sioners examined the map.) What have you decided about on the map 1 

Mr. Brtjnot. We were looking at the ma]) to see where was a good 
line if the Crows decided to sell the mountain part of their reservation. 
Some people think it would be best to sell from the mouth of Clark's 
Fork up to the Yellowstone ; others think it would be best not to sell so 
much, but to take some other line this side of that, but it is for you to 
make up your mind how much you will sell, or whether you will sell any. 
It is your land ; you can do as you please about it. 

We have told you what the Great Father wants you to do. I have 
told you I think it would be good to let the miners have the mountains 
where they are and where they are going, and for the Great Father to 
pay you. I think it would lie better for you and your children, but if 
you do not think as I do, it is all right. 



28 

Bear-Wolf. These are old men, (the chiefs.) We are young men; 
we are just grown up ; we do not want to sell any land. 

Iron-Bull. You are my friends. (Here he was interrupted by the 
arrival of a mourning people.) Long-Neck, whose brother was killed in 
a recent light with the Sioux, with his squaw, came in weeping ; he placed 
his hands on the head of each commissioner and sang a mourning song, 
all the Indians looking solemn, and some weeping. 

Long-jSTeck. My brother is killed by the Sioux ; I want to revenge 
myself. I come to ask you to give me good luck. 

After the mourning party had gone Iron-Bull said: We are tired. I 
will say a few words and quit talking for to day. Look all around 
us ! There is no white man's blood ; we do not set our feet upon 
his blood. When you gave us flour, did we ask for it ? Did we ever 
ask for sugar or beef? What made you give it to us? We never 
asked you to give us pants and stockings. You have not asked me 
to say what I am now going to ask you. I have asked why food 
is given lis, and I was told we were getting food because we were 
friends of the whites. We like the food ; do not quit giving it to us when 
four years are up. Here is our agency ; we were looking for a white 
man to take charge of it. We know Pease's face. All the people, old 
men, young meuj women, and children know Pease. If you put any 
body else here as agent we will not feel like living here any more. We 
do not want Story and Hoffman, ourtraders, to go away. There is a tali 
man in the store called Cross ; he makes bad faces to us ; he is a hard 
man ; we do not know him. I am not a fool. I am the Iron Bull. I love 
all white men. The Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arrapahoes do not like the 
whites ; if you do not know it, I tell you so. The whites have no horses 
on the Sweet-Water or in the Gallatin Valley ; and over to the Missouri 
Biver all their horses are in the Sioux camp. All about they have 
killed white men and scalped them. If you like us, do not give theSioux 
any ammunition or guns. Do what I ask you. Let people keep their cattle 
on the other side of the Yellowstone. The whites would like to move 
on our land ; do not be in a hurry. Here is a good place to farm, and 
there is wood on the mountains. You saw that man who came here and 
cried. The Sioux killed his brother, just as they would you or me. 
Have pity on us and take the sickness away from the Crow camp. 
When we raise camp we will go for buffalo ; we will make a medicine 
lodge near the lake. If we come back and nothing happens, we will be 
glad to see you. When we raise camp we want you to give us ammuni- 
tion to defend our camp. A long time ago a peace commission sent 
for me to the Yellowstone. I went with Shane, (the interpreter ;) they 
gave me blankets. I could blow through them, and they went to pieces ; 
they gave us nothing that was good. I asked them to do something for 
us. They said, " Yes," but they have done nothing for us. There are 
plenty of buffalo yet. The soldiers went down the other side of the 
Yellowstone; we said nothing, because we loved them. When there is 
no game for us to eat, then we will come and tell you about it. 

Mr. Brunot. One thing I want you all to understand. You say you 
want Mr. Pease for agent. You know his face and like him ; so 
do I, and I think the Great Father likes him, too. The Great 
Father, when he has his men, he puts them where he wants them to 
go ; he puts them where he pleases. General Baker was over at 
Fort Ellis; the Great Father took him away and sent another man 
there. When I came here I knew Major Pease was here ; these gentle- 
men knew T Pease was here, and that is all we know about it. If the 
Great Father wants to take him away you must think it is all right. 



29 

Major Pease is your friend and will always be so. If the Great Father 
sends anybody else, that is for him to do as he wishes. He did not tell 
me anything- about it. But if the Great Father sends a new agent or 
trader, you must try them and see if they are good. If a man comes 
who does not do right, tell the Great Father, and he will send another 
man. We have nothing to do with it. You are all tired, and you want 
to talk among yourselves about what has been said, and I think w r e 
had better stop. We will meet to-morrow and have other things to say, 
and we want you to talk about it and tell us what you have to say. 

Low-Horn, (taking Pease and putting his arms about him.) We 
love him, and want to keep him. We all love him, and want him to 
remain with the Crows. 

Mr. Brunot. When I talk to the Crows I mean all — the Kiver and 
Mountain Crows both. I think if a man has a family it is good for all 
of them to be together, and not divided up. I think the Biver Crows 
ought to stay with the others ; you ought all to be one family. I thought 
all the Biver Crows would be here, but some have not come. I hope you 
will all be friends together. We are very sorry for your people who are 
sick, and for those who mourn. We cannot help it. The Great Spirit 
does everything; but we will ask the Great Spirit to take the sickness 
away, and I hope he will make you well. That is all we will say to-day. 
To-morrow morning, at nine o'elock, we will meet in council. What you 
have said has been put on paper, and will go to the Great Father. There 
are some things I do not speak of, because I do not know about them, but 
all I do say is true. I will take your words to the Great Father, and he 
will do as he pleases. I want you to talk among yourselves, and tell us 
to-morrow what you will do about your land. When I came away from 
Washington I did not bring any presents, because I thought if I came 
to the Crows bringing a lot of presents you would think I would take 
advantage of you. But now that we are here and seeyort, we think we 
would like to give you something. We have to do the best we can. We 
have a few blankets we wish to give you. We give them to you to show 
you that w T e are your friends, the same as you showed us when you 
brought the robes to us. 

Fifty blankets were then distributed among the chiefs and head-men; 
after which the council adjourned. 

Second Day. 

August 12, 1873. 

The council convened at two o'clock. Blackfoot made a long speech 
to his people, telling them of the number of whites that are coming into 
their country and going into Judith's Basin, eating the game, and their 
stock eating the grass on which the buffalo and antelope, the Indian 
food, feed. 

The council opened with prayer by General Whittlesey. 

Mr. Brunot. I do not wish to say the same things I did yesterday. 
I think you heard them all, and have thought of them, and are ready to 
say something in regard to the business of which we talked. We have 
been thinking about it, and so have you. Xow you have something to 
say about it, and we are ready to listen. The business about the land is 
yours more than it is anybody else's. If a man has a great thing to 
think about he does not mind little things ; if he sees the sun, and 
can look at that, he does not want to look at a little eanip-fire. 
Some other time he will look at the little things ; so now we will talk of 
the great matter, and some other time we will talk of the little things. 



30 

Blackfoot. What men say one to the other is good. Look at me. lam 
a big man. I have a big heart, and what I say is true. The whites have 
been digging gold at Emigrant Gulch for ten years. Perhaps the white 
men think the Crows do not know it, but we do know all about it. 
Above Emigrant Gulch I hear the whites have found other diggings. I 
love the Great Father, and I love my white friends. I will talk to you. 
The whites have been stealing our property. We are men, and know of 
it, and we will some day ask for the pay for our gold that the white men 
took from us. We used to go up the Yellowstone, and cross to the lake, 
and go through to Heart Mountain on the Stinking Water. That w us our 
country. This summer we intend to go to Heart Mountain to get skins 
for our lodges. Oue time on Big Rocky (Rosebud) our camp nut a 
wagon and white men with it. Four chiefs went and shook hands with 
the white men. The white men pulled out their revolvers and shot one of 
the Crow chiefs and killed him, and shot another who got well. When we 
heard of this we cried; we thought much about it, and then tried to for- 
get it, because the white man was our friend. 

Mr. Brunot. When was that ? 

Blackfoot. AYlien General Sully first came into the country to fight 
the Sioux, (1S62.) We do not understand you about the country, We 
understood Heart Mountain and Stinking River were in the Crow reser- 
vation, but you say it is not. Above the canons they have been digging 
gold; now the whites want to take Heart Mountain, and we do not un- 
derstand it. From Emigrant Gulch on this side we do not want to sell; 
above it we will sell you. We go to Judith Basin in the winter and 
locate on the creeks. The buffalo and antelope are ours. The whites 
kill them and put poison on them to kill wolves; they kill our horses 
with their poison. We say it is all right, because we love the white 
man and hold on to his hands. We are now telling you what we think. 
Dr. Hunter went down the river to the Warm Spring and located 
himself down there. I want you to hear and believe what I say. When 
we go for buffalo we find trappers hunting all over our country and 
men going everywhere on it. They think we do not know of it, but we 
do. White men who have married our women are stopping here for the 
Crows. When we kill our enemy, one who is hostile to everybody, 
the whites ought to be glad. A long time ago young White Bear, an 
Indian brave, and a white man, his friend, went together to fight the 
Sioux. They fought side by side. The white man was killed. Did the 
red man run away ? No; he fought by the side of his white friend ; and 
avenged his death. They fought hand in hand; and so they died. The 
bones of the red man and white are now mingled together. That shows 
we are friends of the white man ; and as the red man and white man 
died, hand in hand, so ought we to live. 

Right close to the agency this year Dr. Frost, a white man, and two 
Crow women were killed by the Sioux. The white man and the red 
women died together. That is why we want to war against the Sioux. 
The white men did not avenge the death of the white man, but we 
avenged the death of both the white and the red people. We think, 
when we die together as friends, we ought to live together as friends. 
We say, yes, yes, to what you say, and we wish to do what is best for 
both whites and Indians. 

What we were told at Laramie I have in my heart. They told us to 
look out a white man with a good heart for our agent. We have 
found him. Here he is in Pease. He does not drink whisky ; he likes us. 
He does not offer us whisky, and we like him. Pease never made any In- 
dians mad at him ; the children all like him ; he is kind to all of us. 



31 

What we ask you to do is to permit him to stay, and then we will 
listen to what you say. You .come to hear what we have to say. I 
tell you, up above, on the river, the whites are digging gold. You can 
buy that country for the whites. We do not hide anything ; we are men. 
From Emigrant Gulch to the Forks you can have ; below it yoiT cannot. 
I am a man, and that is what I say. We do not want a railroad alongside 
of the river. What do you think about it ? We do not want Pease to go 
away. We never hurt & white man, and we can always look in the white 
man's face and shake hands with him. The Nez Perces Indians made 
peace with us, and they like us. The Bannack Indians shake hands with 
us, but they do badly. You should talk to them. When we went to 
Laramie the commissioners asked us to make peace with the Snakes. 
We did so, and love them ; we know and like Wask-a-kie, and we made 
peace with him. If yon count the Crows there are fourteen hundred 
men. We would like you to give us guns enough for them, and plenty 
of horses, and to give us food for all time, as long as there are Crows, and 
that is what we want for our piece of laud. 

Crazy Sister-in-Law, (a chief.) We do not want Pease to go away. 
My boy does not want him to go away. He gives you a horse (to the 
commission) to keep Pease here. (He gave the commissioner a stick as 
a pledge representing a horse.) 

Mountain Chiefs daughter and Crazy Sister-in-Law's little daughter 
presented robes, saying, "We want Pease to stay with the Crow tribe." 
All the children gathered about Major Pease to hold on to him. 

The council here adjourned unceremoniously, after which — 

White Mouth said, " Blackfoot did wrong in sending everybody 
away from the council. I do not feel right about it. I thought the coun- 
cil was going to be a good one. We cannot help it, but we do not 
like it." 

Other Indians came forward and said they had nothing to do with 
breaking up the council. Plentv of others wished to talk, but 
Blackfoot did it all. 

Council reassembled at five o'clock. Iron Bull, head chief, being sick, 
did not return. 

Mr. Brunot. Do any of you want to talk ? 

Blackfoot. You asked us to come back and now we want to hear 
what you have to say. 

Mr. Brunot. We are glad to see the Chiefs back, but we would like 
to see more of the young men, and hope more will come. I want to talk 
a little about what Blackfoot said, and about some other things. I 
want to talk as I always do, true and straight. I don't want my words 
to be like the winds, that go off and are never seen again. I want them 
to go into your ears and into your hearts, and if you do not hear them 
now, some day you may be sorry for it. I want you to remember all I 
say, and some day you will say that white man told us the truth. 
When a man sees the whirlwind coming, does he tell it to stop? No! 
He gets out of the way; he cannot stop it. A wise man looks ahead; he 
sees what is coming and he gets ready for it. I see what is coming over 
this country. I know what is good for the Indians, and I want you to 
know it, too. I have been on the Platte, and on Wind River, and on 
the Missouri, and away to the ocean, and what do I see? You do not 
see it, but I do. I see the white man's towns coming further and furth- 
er; they are almost here. A few years ago, where these towns now are, 
there were buffalo. The buffalo used to be on the Platte as they are 
now on the Big Horn and Powder River. They are all gone now. 



32 

Why are they so plenty here still? Tbey have been driven from there 
and have come tip here. The Sioux cannot find any buffalo on the Platte, 
so they come up north to hunt them. If the Crows went to the Platte 
and the Republican, they would not find any bufialo there. They have 
come up here. And when they are killed off here, they will be all gone 
everywhere. Bufialo are the Indian's bread, but they are going away 
and soon will be all gone, and the friends of the Indians want them, by 
that time, to have something else. We want you to have lands that 
you can keep, so that you will have plenty to eat; we want you to teach 
your children so that they may live on white man's food. These Indi- 
ans who have eaten white man's food, know it is good. When you 
went to Fort Laramie you made a treaty with the white men. I was 
not there, but here is the paper that tells me what the treaty was. It 
says, "The Crows shall have a piece of land always." It is for you and 
your children. That piece of land was marked on these maps. Some 
of you think it was larger than it is. I do not know who told you that. 
It was wrong; it was a mistake. If the Crows think the land is not 
large enough, I am sorry ; but I see how hard it is to keep this piece 
of laud for you. Some of it has the gold mountains on it. I see where- 
ever gold mountains are, there white men go. They ought not to come 
here for it ; it is not their land. The Great Father does not want them 
to come on the Crow land, but he is a long way off; he can not see 
with his own eyes into the gulches and mountains. He has heard about 
the gold mountains and the people in them. He has also heard that the 
Crows do not go into the mountains much, and he thinks if the whites 
go into the Crow mountains, the Government ought to pay you for the 
lands. If the land goes away from you, by men going here, there and 
everywhere, after a while it is all gone and you have nothing for it, 
but if you sell the land and let the people go into it, and the Great 
Father pays you for it, year after year, you will get things you need, and 
have them always. You will get them after the buffalo are all gone. 
The Great Father is making the railroad. It is like the whirlwind. I 
cannot stop it ; nobody can. I might as well try to stop the Yellowstone 
with my hand. I can not do it. The Sioux thought they had stopped 
the Great Father's soldiers last summer. The Great Father told the 
soldiers when they went there, if they met the Sioux and they made 
trouble, to come back, till they could talk about it, and now there are 
more soldiers coming this way than all the Sioux warriors number, aud 
they are going to put a war-house on the border of the Sioux country, 
at the mouth of Powder River. You have not seen many of the Great 
Father's soldiers here ; very few. But away to the east there are mauy 
thousands of them. 

Now, about this land ; I told you the Great Father wants to give you 
pay for it, and have you sell the mountains at this end of your reserva- 
tion. It belongs to the Crows, and the Great Father does not want it 
to be taken away without your getting pay for it. Blackfoot talked 
about selling a little piece at the upper end. Suppose we were to say 
that will do ; we will pay for that little piece ; it would do no good. 
Here are mountains that people are going into now, and the same trouble 
would come again. Is not that so ? I want to tell you another thing 
about the treaty, and I want you to know that it is not I who say this, 
but it is what the treaty says. I am going to toll you what the paper 
says. The Crows have for their laud always, what is marked on this 
map, (showing the bounds of the reservation on the map.) Here is 
Crazy Mountain on the river ; here is Judith Basin ; here the Missouri. 
The treaty says this is the land of the Crows forever, (markiug reserva- 



33 

tion.) Then it says as long as there are any buffalo, and as long as the 
white men are not here (in Judith Basin,) with farms, they may go 
there and hunt. So on Tongue River and Powder River ; you can go 
there. Blackfoot says white people are going into Judith Basin. The 
treaty does not say that whites dare not go there, but the treaty says 
Indians aud whites both can go there. I never was in Judith Basin, 
but I have heard of it, and I have heard that it is a better country than 
this; that it is good tor grass, aud that there is plenty of water, wood, 
and game. I know the railroad is not going there, but that it is coming 
along here. - I think if the Crow Indians could have Judith Basin in- 
stead oi this, so that they would own it, and could come and hunt here, 
it would be good. The way it is now, the Crows, the white men, and 
any other Indians can go there, but other Indians can not come here 
without the permission of the Crows ; but if the Crows had that for a 
reservation, the whites dare not go there at all, and other Indians could 
not go there, without the Crows permitted them to do so. But the Crows 
could come here and hunt as long as there is game. That country there 
is not as large as this country here, but the country all around it you 
could go to all the same ; but, because that country is not so large, if 
you go there yon ought to have some pay for the difference. The treaty 
■says the Crows were to be fed four years; somebody told the Crows it 
was forty years ; that was a mistake ; it was not true. This is the last 
year, but I do not want it to stop. I want that they shall have plenty 
to eat. The Great Father at Washington wants them to have plenty to 
eat, but every four years they have a new Great Father at Wash- 
ington; perhaps some other man may be Great Father some day, 
and he may not want you to have these things. I hope you will 
always have them until you learn to make them like the white men; but 
I cannot tell; a new Great Father may be a different kind of a man. 
Xow you can fix it so that it does not make any difference who the 
Great Father is, but you can always have plenty. You can do it this 
way: if you like Judith Basin, and want it for a reservation, we can 
go and say to the Great Father, it is smaller than this reservation, aud 
for that reason you ought to have something always every year, in place 
of the big piece of country which you sell. We can ask him to give the 
Crows Judith Basin, and, because you give up this reservation, to 
give you food and things you need, so that you will never want. We 
can ask him to give you this, the interest of a million dollars, and every 
year you would get fifty thousand dollars in food and such things as 
you need ; that is what we would ask the Great Father to do, and 
we think he would do it, but we do not know whether he would do it 
or not; he might think it too much, but if he thinks it is too much, and 
does not agree to it, it would all be the same as it is now. I have told 
you much that I think and what I tell you is what I think is the best 
thing that could be done for you. These gentlemen with me all think 
the same way. I do not think I am wrong, and I know that I will not be 
afraid to meet the Crows anywhere, here or in the spiritdand, for what I 
have done is for your good and all I tell you is true and comes from my 
heart. 

Blackfoot. What you have said we have listened to and we think 
it is true. At Laramie the treaty was made. We did not feel right. 
We had made a long journey ami were tired aud sick. They gave us 
some horses. They thought they were doing a big thing, and making 
us a big present. But the horses were wild like the antelope. We 
caught them with the lasso. They jumped and kicked; we held on 
tight to them, but they got away front us; we were sick hunting them, 
3 c 



O 1 

o4 

and when we got home nearly all of them were gone. The commis- 
sioners told me that we should have plenty of food given us for forty 
years. They were big men who talked with us ; they were not drunk 
when they told us. We were men and heard them, and so it ought to 
be written in the treaty. I told the commissioners at Laramie that 
I had seen the Sioux commit a great massacre; they killed many white 
men. But the Sioux are still there and still kill white men. When 
you whip the Sioux come and tell us of it. You are afraid of the Sioux. 
Two years ago I went with the soldiers; they were very brave; they 
were going through the Sioux country to Powder Eiver and Tongue 
River. We got to Prior Creek, just below here in the Crow country. 
I wanted to go ahead into the Sioux country, but the soldiers got 
scared and turned back. I was there and so were others who are here; 
they know what I say is true. The soldiers said they were goiug to 
Tongue river, but they got frightened at the Sioux and turned back. 
The soldiers were the whirlwind; they went toward the Sioux country, but 
the whirlwind turned back. Last summer the soldiers went to Prior Creek 
again; again they said they were going through the Sioux country, but 
they saw a few Sioux; they were afraid of them; they got scared and 
turned up to the Muscleshell, and went back again; again the whirl- 
wind was going through the Sioux country, but again the whirlwind 
turned back. We are not the whirlwind, but we go to the Sioux; we 
go into their country; we meet them and fight, but we do not turn 
back; but we are not the whirlwind. You say the railroad is coming 
up the Yellowstone; that it is like the whirlwind and cannot be turned 
back. I do not think it will come. The Sioux are on the way and you 
are afraid of them; they will turn the whirlwind back. If you whip 
the Sioux, and get them out of its way, the railroad may come and I 
will say nothing. 

We were born on this side of the Yellowstone and were raised here. 
It is good land. There is plenty of good land here. Timber and grass 
and w<ater are plenty, and there is much game in the mountains. 
You talk about Judith Basin and say you are going to give us plenty 
to eat. We do not want to exchange our land. You are my friend. 
If we were to go to the white man's country and bloody it as they 
do to our country, you would not bike it. For many years I have 
known the whites. You have a big heart, but it is not so with 
the white men who come into my country. Some of them never 
sucked their mother's breasts. I think they were raised like the 
buffalo, and sucked a buffalo cow for their mother. They have no 
hearts. I was not raised in that way ; I am a man. I was raised and 
sucked milk from my mother's breast. There is no white man's blood 
on our hands, and I am not ashamed to shake hands with you. What 
I say is true. I am your friend. The Sun sees me and hears what I 
say. The Great Spirit hears me and knows it is true. Did I ask these 
white men to come here and crowd me! Buffalo robes are my money; 
we have some buffalo left yet. If I go to the buffalo country and bring- 
no robes back, the traders will not look at me; they won't be glad to 
see me and shake hands with me, and say "How," "How," as they 
w r ould if I had plenty. I think you had better leave Pease with us as 
he was before. If you put anybody else here, very soon they will kick 
me in the face with their foot. All the men who have Crow women, 
we don't want them sent away. They are my' friends and I want them 
to live as I do. 

Mr. Brtjnot. About Pease, I have nothing to say. I told you I 
liked him ; and I like other good men who do right to the Indians. The 



35 

Great Father does as lie pleases about these things, so I have nothing 
more to say about it. But as to what I said about Judith Basin. I 
know every man cannot think alike. Blackfoot in some things does not 
think just as I do. He says what he thinks ; I say what 1 think ; both 
are men. What difference if we do not think alike in everything ? We 
can be friends. 1 am not afraid to say what I know is right; so Black- 
foot says what he thinks is right and I like it. The Great Father sent 
me to talk to the Sioux; they asked for guns to fight the Crows. I 
said they could not have them. I was not afraid of Sioux soldiers; so 
now 1 would not be afraid of my friends, the Crows. If I am not afraid 
to speak to enemies, I am not afraid to speak my mind to my friends. 
I want you to know, and you do know, that what I say is true and that 
it is for your good, so you will think and talk about it, and, perhaps, af- 
ter awhile you will think I was right. Suppose you think I made a mis- 
take; you are still my friends ; you are the white man's friend all the 
same. Bnt you must talk about these things and see if they are not 
good. What have I been waiting for ? Because I like you and want 
to do something for you. I have stayed a long time; we have had two 
days' talk ; we talked of things that were in the past and of things that 
are now. But this matter of the land is the most important thing; if 
we get it fixed we can settle the little things afterwards. The agency 
buildings were burned up ; they ought to be built somewhere else 
very soon, and they ought to be built and in a good place where the 
stake will be down strong; where there is plenty of wood and water and 
good farming land, and where the Indians can stay in the winter with- 
out having their heads blown off by the wind. You want it where you 
can stay. Suppose the question of the laud is settled ; then we can 
locate the agency. If you decide to go to Judith Basin, we will put 
the agency on some of the streams there in a good place. Suppose you 
do not want to go there ; then the agency must be put on some creek here. 
I am afraid if the stake is put down here, it will not be a strong stake in 
the ground, but if it were put at Judith Basin, I think it would be, but 
■it is for you to know what is best. You need not talk till you think 
about it. I think I can stay till to-morrow night, and I will hear all you 
want to say by tliat time. I think you can decide about these things, 
so we can take your words to the Great Father ; so we can put it in a 
paper; but I do not know, we will see. 

Wolf's Bow. We have been talking to each other a long time. You 
have said what you have to say. If you want my land that is over here 
(above), I tell you we will sell it to you. We asked you for fifteen hun- 
dred guns of all kinds for the mines ; we want them right away in ten 
days. If you want to build a new agency, go to the foot of the caiiou 
on this side of the land we give you. . We will go for buffalo and when 
we come back, we wdl find the new buildings there. We told the Peace 
commissioners at Laramie, Ave would hold on to the white man's hands 
always. It was put on paper there ; we have a copy, and I will show it 
to you. We said to one another then, we would never point our guns at 
each other as long as we were Crows. The Sioux fight the whites ; they 
wanted to give us mules and horses to help them fight the whites, but 
we would not. We have fought the Sioux and have left many good men 
on the battle fields. When I go for buffalo, the Sioux fight me for my 
land. I will continue to fight them. If the soldiers go to fight my en- 
emy, the Sioux, they do not go far ; they turn back close to here. We 
went to fight them this summer ; they were as well armed as we were. 
We want you to tell the Great Father the Sioux have more gnus than 
they ought to have, and he ought not to give them any more. 



36 

Mr. Brukot. Tlie great father does not give them any guns. I am 
afraid the Sioux get their arms from the same kind of people who give 
whisky to the Eiver Crows. I got up to say that we have been here a 
long time. I have talked a great deal, and so have you, and we had 
better think about it a little. We have some tobacco we want to give 
you, and we want you all to come to-morrow morning. 

After distributing some tobacco, the Council adjourned. 

Third Day. 

August 13, 1873. 

Council convened at 1 o'clock. 

Blackfoot made a long speech to his people, closing up with the re- 
quest that the commissioners should explain the treaty to them. He 
said there was nothing in the treaty of what they had said to the com- 
missioners at Fort Laramie, and nothing of what the commissioners 
had said to them. He said our country is not as large as the commis- 
sioners promised it should be, and we do not understand the treaty ;is 
you read it. We do not think you will tell us a lie. None of the Chiefs 
would accept this treaty. Show-Ms-face was the only one who was wil- 
ling to take a copy of it. We want you to tell us what is in it. None 
of the Indians who were at Laramie know what is in this treaty. 

The Council opened with prayer by Dr. Wright. 

Mr. Brunot. You would like to know everything that is in the 
treaty. I will tell you. I do not know whether what is in it is good 
and pleases the Crows or not, nor does it make any difference whether 
it pleases me now, or whether I like it or not. All I know and all the 
Crows need to know, is that this is tbe treaty as it was signed at Lara- 
mie. Yesterday 1 told you some of the things I read in it. To-day I will 
tell you again, because Blackfoot asks me to do so. It reads, "This is a 
treaty made at Fort Laramie on the 7th of May, 1868, between the 
Peace Commission and the Chiefs and head men of the Crow Tribe of 
Indians." Article first says, " There shall always be peace between the 
Crows and the Government. If bad men, the whites or any other peo- 
ple do wrong to the Crows, they must tell the Agent, and the Great 
Father will have them punished. If bad men among the Crows kill or 
harm the white men or take their property, they are to bring them to 
the agent and have them punished." 

Blackfoot. Who made this treaty ? 

Mr. Brunot. I will read their names : Generals Harney, Sherman, 
Augur, and others. This copy that Show-his-face has was made by Cap- 
tain Burt at Fort Smith, and it is a copy of the one the peace-commis- 
sion made. The one I have is just the same. 

The second article says the United States agrees that this country 
shall be set apart for the occupation of the Crows and other friendly In- 
dians, whom they wish to have and whom the United States consents 
shall occupy it. The country begins where the one hundred and seventh 
degree of longitude crosses the southern boundary of Montana; then 
up in a straight line to the Yellowstone ; then following it till it crosses 
the southern boundary of Montana; and thence in a straight line east 
to the place of beginning. This country is for the Crows and the people 
who are sent to live with the Crows. Then it says after that time the 
Crows give up all right to any part of the United States except this part 
embraced in the reservation. 

The third article says, because the Crows gave up the other country 
the United States agrees to build, on Otter Creek, a ware-house, a house 
for an agent, doctor, carpenter, miller, blacksmith, and engineer, and 



37 

when the children of the Crows are sent to school a man shall be sent to 
teach them ; and a school-house shall be built ; and when it is time to do 
so the United States is to build a saw-mill, grist-mill and shingle-mill. 

Article fourth says the Crows agree, when a house for the agent and 
other buildings are built, that they will make the reservation their home 
always, and they shall not settle any where else ; but as long as there is 
peace between the Crows and the whites they may hunt buffalo where 
there are any and where there are not too many whites. 

Article fifth says, the agent shall live among the Crows, and listen to 
their complaints, and do as the treaty says. If the Crows or the whites 
do anything wrong, the agent is to send word to the Great Father about 
it ; and what the Great Father decides is right, that the agent shall do. 

Article sixth says if any of the Crows, or any one whom the Govern- 
ment and the Crows allow to live with them, wish to farm, the agent 
shall help them ; andif any Indian selects a piece of land for a farm it shall 
be entered in a book, and it shall always be his, and he can get a paper 
from the agent to say that is his. The Great Father may, at any time, 
survey the land, and mark it out in patches, to show what each one owns. 
The United States may make laws to show what kind of title the Indian 
people shall have. 

Blackfoot. It is all lies; we do not want to hear any more. Wrap 
it up and throw it all away. We will. not have that treaty. 

Mr. Brunot. You had better hear it all and know what you are to 
get. (At this point there was much excitement among the Indians, 
many of them declaring they would hear no more. After waiting a few 
minutes Mr. Brunot insisted upon silence, and said:) You asked me to 
read the treaty. I am going to tell you all that is in it. It goes on to 
say that all treaties made before this one are gone, but from the time 
of this treaty, the United States agree to send to the Crows the fol- 
lowing articles: For each male Indian over fourteen years of age, a 
suit of good woolen clothes ; for each woman over twelve years of age, 
a flannel skirt, or goods to make it; some calico, or twelve yards of cotton 
domestic; and for the boys and girls younger than fourteen and twelve 
years, flannel and cotton goods to make each one a suit; and it says, so 
that the Great Father can send these things, the agent shall each year 
send word how many Indians there are to get them. This is to be done 
for thirty years. That is your annuity goods. In addition to this, the 
Great Father is to send money to the agent to use for the benefit of the 
Indians at the agency — not to give the money to them, but to spend it 
for their benefit and make them comfortable and happy. If the Indians 
do not want the clothing, they are to tell the agent what they do want; and 
if the Great Father thinks it is good for them, he will send them what 
they want, instead of the clothing, but the agent must send to the Great 
Father word what they want, and the Great Father must give permission 
to do so, before any change can be made. For fearsome one might not 
give all their goods to the Indians, some officer must comeand see that they 
get them. The United States agree to send an agent, physician, engi- 
neer, blacksmith, carpenter, and farmer, and to pay them while they are 
here. It says the Crows must have food for four years. 

I did not make this treaty. I see that, although the Crows may have 
made a mistake about the land, the treaty is good for them. The Great 
Father lives a long way off; he is trying to keep his part of the treaty; 
but I told you he could not see into the gulches and all these places, and 
he can not come from Washington with all the goods that are sent. 
One man cannot always tell what is being done a great way off, but lie 
wants to do the best lie can for you, and wants you to do the best you 



38 

can for Mm. You know the goods last year and year before were better 
than you got before. The reason is, men are trying to get what is right 
for you. I want you to understand it and know that there are bad 
.white men, just as there are bad Indians. A bad white man steals your 
horse ; it is not the Great Father, nor is he to blame for it. If a bad 
Crow takes a horse I do not blame it on Blackfoot ; but if a white man 
takes a Crow horse the agent finds it out and tries to have the man 
punished. Sometimes he runs away. So it is with the Indians. The 
chiefs do not want bad Indians to do wrong ; neither does the Great 
rather want bad whites to do wrong to you. Now, we all understand 
about the treaty, and we will put it away and say nothing more about it. 

After you have been thinking about it you may decide that Judith 
Basin is a good place to keep always. If you do you can then come here 
and hunt, just as you do there now. The difference is, now you own 
this, and hunt and stay over there ; but if you sell this, you would own 
over there and could come and hunt here. I have talked a long time, 
but it is your fault, not mine. You asked me to tell you what was in 
the treaty. When I told you some of it, you wanted me to stop. That is 
not right. If you want to know what is in a man, you want to know 
all about him ; so it is with this paper, and when you have heard it 
all it is not so bad for the Crows. 

Blackfoot. We wanted to know just what was in that treaty, and 
my friend has told us. I have said before that we are friends, and that 
we like each other, yet we have different thoughts in our hearts. The 
first time I went to Fort Laramie and met the peace commissioners, 
what each said to the other, we said " Yes, yes." The second time we 
went we signed the treaty ; but neither of us, my white friends nor the 
Indian chiefs, said " Yes, yes," to what is in that treaty. What we 
said to them, and what they said to us, was " Good." We said " Yes, 
yes," to it ; but it is not in the treaty. Shane was there the first time, 
and what he interpreted to us are not the words that are in the treaty. 
The first time we went we did not sign the treaty ; we only said " Yes, 
yes," to each other. The Indian way of making a treaty is to light a 
pipe, and the Indians and their white friends smoke it. When we were 
in council at Laramie we asked whether we might eat the buffalo for a 
long time. They said yes. That is not in the treaty. We told them 
we wanted a big country. They said we should have it ; and that is not 
in the treaty. They promised us plenty of goods, and food for forty 
years — plenty for all the Crows to eat ; but that is not in the treaty. 
Listen to what I say. We asked, " Shall we and our children get food 
for forty years?" They said u Yes ;" but it is not that way in the 
treaty. They told us when we got a good man for agent lie should 
stay with us ; but it is not so in the treaty. We asked that the white 
man's road along Powder Biver be abandoned, and that the grass be 
permitted to grow in it. They said "Yes, yes;" but it is not in the 
treaty. The land that we used to own we do not think of taking pay 
for. We used to own the land in the Mud River Valley. These old 
Crows you see here were born there. We owned Horse Creek, the 
Stinking Water, and Heart's Mountains. Many of these Indians were 
born there. So we owned the country about Powder River and Tongue 
River, and many of our young men were born there. So we owned the 
mouth, of Museieshell, and Crazy Mountain, and Judith Basin; many 
of our children were born there. So we told the commissioners. They 
said u Yv*. yes;'" but there is nothing about it in the treaty. ' We told 
them there were many bad Indians, but that we would hold on to the 
hands of the white man, and would love each other. We told them the 



39 

Piegans, the Sioux, and other tribes, have killed white men. We told 
them the whites were afraid of them. I asked them to look at us ; that 
we had no arms, and they should not be afraid of the Crows. They said 
" Yes, yes ;" but it is not so written in the treaty. The treaty, you say, 
has bought all our land except on this side of the river; and what do we 
get for it f I am ashamed about it. We sell our land, and what do we 
get for it ? We get a pair of stockings, and when we put them on they 
go to pieces. They get some old shirts, and have them washed, and give 
them to us ; we put them on, and our elbows go right through them. They 
send us tin kettles ; we go to get water to carry to our lodges ; we dip 
the water up, but it all runs out again. That is what we get for our 
land. Why do they send us annuity goods? We go to the buffalo 
country and get skins; our wives dress them, and we give them to our 
friends. We give more presents to our white friends than all the annui- 
ty goods we get are worth. And this is what we get for our lands. 
What goods are given us are no better than we give the whites, and I 
do not see what we are getting for our lands. We told the commission 
at Laramie that the Sioux were in our country on Tongue Eiver. The 
Sioux and the Crows are at war yet I went into the Sioux camp alone. 
They offered to give us two hundred and sixty horses and mules, all 
taken from white men, if we would join them, but we refused to do so. 
They took me by the arm and asked me to stay with them and fight the 
whites, but I pulled loose from them and would not do so. I told the 
commission that I was asked to hold the whites with my left hand and 
the Sioux with my right hand; but now I gave my right hand to the 
whites and woidd hold on to them; they said "Yes, yes." But none of 
this is in the treaty. We told them we had plenty of fish and game, 
and when they got scarce we would tell them, and ask help from them. 

They said "Will you sell the Powder River country, Judith Basin, and 
Wind River country V I told them no; but that is not in the treaty. 
When Major Camp came here as agent we gave him a present of a large 
number of robes to send to the Great Father. We never heard that the 
Great Father got those robes ; we would like to hear about them. The 
Crow tribe want Major Pease to remain with us as our agent. Some of 
the young men want him to take them to see the Great Father at AVash- 
ingtou. You ask us to tell you what we want. We want Mexican 
blankets, elk-teeth, beads, eagle-feathers and panther and otter-skins. 
We like fine horses and needle guns; these things are to us what money 
is to you. 

Mr. Brunot. I told you last night I could not stay much longer. I 
would like to stay a month, and then I might want to stay longer. I 
would like to stay and talk to you, and hear you talk. Our hearts are 
close together. You know what I have said is true. Sometimes we 
know a thing is good, yet we want to keep it away from us; it troubles 
us. A man has ahorse which he likes; somebody offers him something 
for it that is better ; at first he does not want to part with the horse ; 
he thinks of it, and finds he gets something better for it; then he will let 
it go. Just so about this laud. The place on which we were born and 
raised we think is all the good place there is. Those that were born on 
Wind River thought that no other place was as good; those who were 
born down on the Yellowstone thought no place was as good as that. 
The same men have been here a while ; now they think this is, better. 
You have this reservation; you think it a good place to live on; and 
you go to Judith Basin to hunt. You are right; this is a good place, 
and you do not like to think about making a change. It belongs to you, 
and you can do as you please about it. If you listen and do as I 



40 

want. I think it is good. If you do not think it is good, I will still say 
you can do as you please about it. It is like a man who does not want to 
let his horse go till he thinks about it ; when he thinks about it and 
finds it is better to do so, he lets it go. The man thiuks about it till he 
gets his mind made up. It ought to be the same way about this busi- 
ness. You should think about it and talk about it. Do not put it away 
out of your mind until you are sure you are going to do right. Do not 
put it off till you find the commission is gone and all our words are lost. 
When we come together again you can come and tell us what you think 
about this business. If you put it off till some other time it may be too 
late. The treaty says the white men, the Crows, and other Indians can 
go to Judith Basin. If the Crows wanted to live in Gallatin Valley 
they could not do it. The white men are there; so, if the white men are 
in Judith Basin, the Great Father cannot let the Crows live there; it will 
be too late after the white men are there. The whites are not there now * r 
and before it is too late I would like the Crows to think about it and de- 
cide. But do not forget you can do just as you like best. You are men r 
and can make up your own minds ; and what I tell you is because I am 
your friend, and want you to have good houses and plenty to live on. If 
a man was to tell me to come and get some of the Crow land for myself, 
I would want to strike him to the ground. I do not want anything you 
have, nor do I come to get things for other men. I come because the 
Great Spirit tells me it is right to do good to the red men. What I say 
is from the heart, and the time will come when you wdl remember my 
words. I will say nothing more now. I want you to come and talk 
about the matter, and I will take your words to the Great Father. After 
that I will tell you something in regard to what Blackfoot said about 
going to Washington. I want to tell you about that after the other 
things are settled. 

Bear-Wolf. What we say and agree to, we say " Yes, yes," to, on both 
sides. Blackfoot went to Fort Laramie. They talked with each other; 
tiiey said u Yes, yes." But when he came back we did not agree to what 
had been done. We want to go to Washington and see the Great 
Father. The chiefs are here, and we want to hold on to our lands. You 
bring a treaty; it is full of lies. The words that have gone to the Great 
Father have always been lies. Indians that fight the whites, the whites 
always do what they want. If you take us to Washington we will 
shake hands with our friends. The Great Father will talk good to us. 
I want no bad luck on the way. The old men are here; you see them;' 
so are the young men. It is us who own the land, and we will have our 
say about it. We want you to give us the means to go to Washington. 

The council here adjourned. 

FOURTH DAY. 

August 14, IS 73. 
Owing to the protracted rain no general council was held to-day. The 
chiefs, however, were gathered in council, continuing all the afternoon.. 

fifth day. 

August 15, 1873. 
Council convened at twelve o'clock. Blackfoot made a long speech to 
his people, being frequently interrupted by the other Indians. 

Council opened with prayer by General Whittlesey ; after which three 



41 

hours were given the Indians in which to discuss among themselves the 
propositions in the articles of agreement. 

Council reassembled at three o'clock. 

Mr. Brunot. When we ceased talking in the council it was 
raining, and we said we had talked a good while and now it was 
time to think some and make up our minds. That was what I 
told you, and the chiefs said it was good to think about it. I told 
you to make up your minds, and whatever you said so it should be. 
If you decided not to sell this place, then we know the Crows do 
not want to sell it; but I told you what I thought was good for you to 
do. I asked you to think and see if you could not do that. The next 
day it rained so much that we did not come together again. I think the 
rains came so that you would have a longer time to think and decide 
what you would do. The rain comes on the ground; then the sun comes 
and makes the ground warm, and makes the grain grow for food for your 
ponies and the buffalo. So to-day the sun is bright and beautiful; and 
I hope that the Crows' hearts are good, and that they will decide to do 
what is good for themselves. Whatever you do, I hope it is for a long 
time and for your good. We talked three days, and now this is the last 
day to talk and whatever is done must all be done this evening, so that 
we may go in the morning. What I said was put in a paper ; and if you 
have decided to go to Judith Basin, we will put our names to the paper, 
and you will put your names to it, and we will take it to the Great Father 
at Washington. But if you have decided the other way, we will tear 
up the paper, shake hands, and be friends all the same. Now we want 
to know what you have made up your minds to do. 

Bladkfoot. We have been meeting white men before. Whenever we 
met them we had something to say to them. We met you, and you told 
us' what was written down you would take to the Great Father. We 
have talked three days, and my tongue is not tired. 

Mr. Brunot then explained the provisions of the articles of agree- 
ment in a general way, and said : If you wish, the paper will be read : 
then you can put your names to it or not, as you wish. 

Blackfoot. On this side of the river and on the other side is our country . 
If you do not knowanything about it I will tell you about it, forlwas raised 
here. You mark all our country, the streams and mountains, and I would 
like to tell you about it; and what I say I want you to take to your heart. 
You make us think a great deal to-day. I am a man, and am talking to you. 
All the Indian tribes have not strong arms and brave hearts like we 
have ; they are not so brave. We love you and shake hands with you, 
(taking Mr. Brunot's hand.) We have gone to Judith Basin a great deal, 
and you wish us to take it for a reservation. All kinds of men go there ; 
trappers and hunters go there poisoning game. The Sioux Indians, 
Crees, Santees, Mandans, Assineboiues, Gros Ventres, Piegans, Pen 
d'Oreilles, Flatheads, the Mountain Crows, the River Crows, Bannocks, 
Snakes and Xez Perce Indians and white people, all go there. You wish 
us to take the Judith Basin for a reservation. All these Indians will 
come and we will likely quarrel ; that is what we think about it. Judith 
basin is a small basin ; a great many people go there ; we all go thereto 
eat buffalo. I have told you about the Sioux when they come to fight us. 
We go a longAvay from our camp. All Indians are not as strong as we 
are ; they give up and run off. If you have two dogs ; if they go to 
fight, and you catch them and pull apart, when you let them go they fight 
again. So it is with the Sioux and Crows. You tell me the railroad is 
coming up the Yellowstone. If you move this place away from here, the 
Sioux will be like a whirlwind; they will come and fight the whites, that 



42 

is true as I tell you. Along Prior mountain is the Crow trail. We listen 
to you, and what I tell you is true. The young - men do not care what 
they do. We want some of them to go to Washington with Major Pease, 
and what they say there wdl be all right. I will tell you what we will 
do ; neither of us wdl live forever ; in time both of us wdl die. We will 
sell the part of our reservation containing the mountains from Clark's 
Pork, below the mountains, and the valleys we will not sell. The Crow 
young men will go to Washington and fix it up, and come back and tell 
us about it. We will sell the range of mountains to Heart's mountain 
and Clarks Pork. The young men will sell it at Washington, and 
they will say to the Great Father at Washington, that the Crows have a 
strong heart and are willing to sell their land. When you buy this 
and give us plenty for it, we will talk about the rest, if you want to buy 
it. Those mountains are full of mines. The whites think we don't know 
about the mines, but we do. We will sell you a big country, all the 
mountains. Now tell us what you are going to give for our mountains. 
We want plenty for them. Am I talking right 1 The young men think 
I am talking right. Every one here is trying to get plenty. The railroad 
is coming. It is not here yet. You talk about Judith Basin. I have 
heard about it. I want to see what you will give for the mountains ; then 
we will talk about the rest of our land. You think you have peace with 
the Sioux ; I do not think you have. You want to shake hands with 
them. W^e want to know whether you are going to fight the Sioux or 
not ; we want to know. We will see what the young men will do at 
Washington ; if they hear what is good, we will do it. The railroad will 
not be here for some time and before that we will be part of the time on 
this side and part of the time on the other side of the river. In the 
Gallatin Valley, if you sell a house and a little piece of ground, you get 
paid for it, I know that is the white man's way of doing. The white 
men are all around us. On the other side of the river all those streams 
belong to the Crows. When the Sioux come there, we can run them off 
into the river. We are friends ; when our friends get horses stolen, we 
give them some. Many of our horses are stolen here ; four of my horses 
are gone now, last night some horses were stolen. The Sioux took them 
along the mountains. On the other side of the gap, there are plenty of 
houses full of everything. In Gallatin Valley are plenty of cartridges, 
the Crows have none. If the Sioux come I do not know what we shall 
fight them with. See all these old women ! They have no clothing ; the 
young men have no good blankets. We would like the Nez Perces, when 
they raise camp, to come here ; they die with the Crows ; they help to 
fight the Sioux. The last commission told us we could eat buffalo a 
long time. While we are here, the Flathead Indians take our horses. 
I would like you to take our part and stop them. 

Mr. Brunot. We talked about the horses this morning with Major 
Pease; he is going to send and get them, and the troops will take the 
horses if they find where they are, and they will bring them back. 

Blackfoot. We did not know you had talked about it. We would 
like you to say "yes" to what we said. At Laramie we said, yes! but 
uot to what is in the treaty. 

Mr. Brunot. Tell Blackfoot every man is not like every other man. I 
was listening and I heard all he said, and it went into my heart. If a man 
hears so mething that makes him sorry, he looks sorry ; if he thinks 
he is going to hear what is good, and he does not hear it, he looks 
sorry. I heard all he said, and when he got through, it was time for 
me to say something. Somebody took some horses. I heard it and 
talked with Major Pease, and he is going to send fur them ; he is going 



43 

to send to Fort Shaw, and if they find the horses, they will ask the 
soldiers to get them back. You have an agent to look after such 
things, and he does the best he can. So, Major Pease is going to try 
and get them back. They have one of our horses too, I guess you did 
not know that. (This seemed to amuse them very much.) Xow we 
will talk about the treaty ; it is far more important than a few horses. 
The paper that we have made about Judith's Basin, I think we had 
better read ; then you will know what I think is good for you. Then I 
will tell you what I think of your proposition. The miners were at 
Emigrant Gulch long ago ; some are on Clark's Fork. The Great 
Father knows that; he could send the soldiers and make them go 
away, but suppose he should do that, what would happen ? Some of 
these men would get mad at the Crows about it, and would do some- 
thing wrong; and perhaps they would get others to help them, and per- 
haps the Crows would go after them and somebody might get killed; 
perhaps a white man, perhaps an Indian. If somebody got hurt, his 
friends would want revenge ; soon we would be quarreling. I do not 
want it to be so, nor does the Great Father want it. The Great Father 
says he does not want the Indians' land taken, nor does he want 
trouble ; so he sends us to see whether you will take money for what 
the white men are doing ; and find a place for the Crows where there 
is no gold for people to run after. If Blackfoot has a good American 
horse, and I have a horse that is not so good, I come and say we will 
trade, and he will say I do not want to trade ; he thinks about it 
and says, "my horse is better and you must give me something more;" 
If I say, "I will give you something more," then we make the trade. So 
with this country ; I say to you, you have a big country, and some of these 
people are on it; you like the country ; I show you another country ; you 
go to it ; you like it ; I say if you like that country, go there, and let 
the white people have this country, and we will give you so much. You 
get all the annuity goods and all that is in the other treaty, but you get 
them at Judith Basin instead of here. You live in this country now and 
hunt over there; if you listen to me, you will live over there and come here 
and hunt as much as you please. Then, every year as long as you and 
your children live, you have money from the Great Father to buy what 
you want. Every year the Great Father asks the agent what do the 
Crows want this year ? The agent asks the Crows and the Great Father 
sends the things, that is the way it is in the paper. That is how it will be, 
if we all say, "yes," and put our names to the paper. The reason why 
I do not think Blaekfoot's proposition is good, is this, if the Crows keep 
the valley and sell the mountain, the whites will want all the time to go 
through your country; your horses will not be safe. If you want wood, 
it is nearly all in the mountain. You sell even the water courses with 
them; it would not be good to sell that and keep this, do you not see 
that? The white men in the mountains would be glad if I agreed to 
what you propose. If I cared only for them, I might agree to it, but I 
care for the Indians and cannot agree to it. I do not think that would 
be good for any of us, for trouble might come. If you cut off all above 
Clark's Fork, I would carry the proposition to the Great Father, and he 
would give money for it, but I do not think that would be so good as to 
sell this place and take the other ; you would not get as much for it, 
Blackfoot asked me about the Sioux, some of them live on the Platte 
and on the Missouri ; they are holding the white man's hand, and they 
do not come up to fight the Crows, but there are some who are not hold- 
ing the white man's hand. But the Great Father has sent his troops, 
nd two boats have come to the mouth of Powder Eiver and the soldiers 



44 

are building a war-house there. They are there now, you will soon hear 
of their being there. In regard to going to Washington, I have some- 
thing to tell you about it, but it is best not to talk of that until we have 
settled about the land. I think some of you ought to go to see the 
Great Father, and I want some of you to go, and I want you to come 
and see me at the same time. You will see the other .uentlemen who 
are here, and you will have a nice time and be much pleased. You can 
tell the Great Father what we say "yes" to, with your own mouths. I 
want Major Pease to go with you. All I am afraid of is when you come 
back, all the Crows will want to go. Kow I want you take a vote and 
see whether you will agree to what we offer. The sun is going down 
and what we do, must be done soon. If you agree to what we offer, I 
will go away glad, for I think it is good. I have seen you a week, and 
I like you, and I want nothing but good for you, and I will always think 
of you, and will think for your good. I will do all I can for you, and 
whatever is right for the Great Father to send you, I will ask him to 
send; these gentlemen think the same. The Crows want some horses; 
we will ask the Great Father to send you some, but we will not put it in 
the paper, for the paper is for all time. The horses would be soon gone r 
but what is in the paper for you to get lasts always, you get them every 
year. I will read what is in the paper. 

The articles of convention were then read as follows : 
Articles of Convention made and concluded on the 16th day of August, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, at 
the Crow agency, in the Territory of Montana, by and between Felix JR. 
Brunot, JE. Whittlesey, James Wright, commissioners in behalf of the 
United States, and the chiefs, head-men, and men representing the tribe 
of Crow Indians, and constituting a majority of the adult male In- 
dians belonging to said tribe. 

Whereas a treaty was made and concluded at Fort Laramie, Dakota 
Territory, on the seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by and between commissioners on 
the part of the United States, and the chiefs and head-men of and rep- 
resenting the Crow Indians, they being duly authorized to act in the 
premises. 

And whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, it is 
provided : "That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby au- 
thorized to negotiate with the chiefs and head-men of the Crow tribe of 
Indians, in the Territory of Montana, for the surrender of their reserva- 
tion in said Territory, orof such part thereof as maybe consistent with the 
welfare of said Indians: Provided, that any such negotiations shall 
leave the remainder of said reservation in compact form, and in good 
locality for farming purposes, having within it a sufficiency of good land 
for farming and a sufficiency for water and timber, and if there is upon 
said reservation a locality where fishing could be valuable to the In- 
dians, to include the same if practicable, and the Secretary shall report 
his action, in pursuance of this act of Congress at the next session there- 
of, for its confirmation or rejection." 

And whereas in pursuance of said act of Congress commissioners 
were appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to conduct the negotia- 
tions therein contemplated, the said commissioners on the part of 
the United States,, and the chiefs, head-men, and men constituting a 
majority of the adult males of the Crow tribe of Indians, in behalf of 
their tribe do solemnly make and enter into the following agreement, 



45 

subject to the confirmation or rejection of the Congress of the United 
States, at the next session thereof. 

Article 1. The United States agree that the following district of 
country, to wit: commencing at a point on the Missouri Eiver opposite 
to the mouth of Shankin Creek, thence up said Creek to its head, and 
thence along the summit of the divide between the waters of Arrow 
and Judith Rivers, and the waters entering the Missouri Eiver, to a 
point opposite to the divide between the head-waters of the Judith Riv- 
er and the waters of the Muscle-Shell River ; thence along said divide 
to the Snowy Mountains, and along the summit of the said Snowy 
Mountains in a northeasterly direction, to a point nearest to the di- 
vide between the waters which run easterly to the Muscle-Shell River 
and the waters running to the Judith River ; thence northwardly along 
said divide to the divide between the head-waters of Armell's Creek 
and the head- waters of Dog River, and along said divide to the Missouri 
River; thence up the middle of said River to the place of beginning. 
The said boundaries being intended to include all the country drained 
by the Judith River, Arrow River, and Bog River, shall be and the 
same is set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation 
of the Indians herein named, and for such other friendly tribes or indi- 
vidual Indians as from time to time they may be willing, with the con- 
sent of the United States, to admit amongst them ; and the United 
States now solemnly agree that no persons except those herein desig- 
nated and authorized so to do, and except such officers, agents, and em- 
ployes of the Government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian 
reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be per- 
mitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the Territory described in 
this article for the use ot said Indians ; and the United States agree to 
erect the agency and other buildings, and execute all the stipulations 
of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (the said stipulations being hereby reaf- 
firmed) within the limits herein described, in lieu of upon the south side 
of the Yellowstone River. 

Art. 2. The United States agree to set apart the sum of one million 
of dollars, and to hold the same in trust for the sole use and benefit of 
the Crow tribe of Indians, the principal to be held in perpetuity, and 
the interest thereof to be expended or reinvested, at the discretion of 
the President of the United States, annually for the benefit of said tribe. 

Art. 3. It is mutually agreed between the United States and the 
Crow Indians, that the second article of the treaty made at Fort Lar- 
amie between the commissioners of the United States and the Crow 
tribe of Indians, be, and the same is abrogated by this agreement, and 
the said Indians hereby cede to the United States all their right, and ti- 
tle, and claim, to the tract of country described in the said second Ar- 
ticle, to wit: "Commencing where the 107th degree of longitude west 
of Greenwich crosses the south boundary of Montana Territory ; thence 
north along said 107th meridian to the mid-channel of the Yellowstone 
River ; thence up said mid-channel of the Yellowstone to the point 
where it crosses the said southern boundary of Montana, being the 45th 
degree of north latitude, and thence east along said parallel of latitude 
to the place of beginning," and which is conveyed to them therein, ex- 
cept the right to hunt upon said lands so long as they may remain un- 
occupied, and as game may be found thereon, and peace continues be- 
tween the whites and Indians. 

Art. 4. The United States agree to suppress so far as possible, by 
the imposition of pains and penalties, the practice of wolfing, or killing 
game by means of poison, within the limits of the following district of 



46 

country, viz, beginning at the mouth of the Muscle-Shell Eiver, thence 
up the said river to the North Fork, and up the North Fork to its 
source .; thence northward along the summit of the Little Belt and 
Highwood Mountains to the head of Deep Creek ; thence down said 
Creek to the Missouri Eiver, and along the margin of said river to the 
place of beginning. 

It is expressly understood between the commissioners and the In- 
dians, parties thereto, that this agreement is subject to the ratification 
or rejection of the Congress of the United States at its next session, 
and that pending the action of Congress the United States shall pre- 
vent all further encroachments upon the present reservation of the Crow 
tribe.' 

The articles were carefully explained until they were fully understood 
by the Indians. 

Thin Belly. I say let them have the land. 

LoNGr Horse. We will give you this land for what you say. This 
side of the river belongs to us; we will sell it. These are our chiefs. 
We have waited for Iron Bull and Blackfoot to say they will sell the 
land ; they don't say so, but the young men now say to sell it. 1 am 
going to come here to hunt. Do not let wolfers come here. These 
young men are chiefs and want to go to Washington to see the Great 
Father ; let them go. 

Iron Bull. Take the names of those who will sell ; they will not 
touch the pen to sign the paper ; they think it is bad luck ; they will come 
up and say " yes," "yes." 

Blackfoot. We smoke together ; we talk through the pipe. As I 
told you, we are friends. The young men say they will sell and we 
agree to it. We want all on the other side of the river away up to Ju- 
dith Basin. It is a small country. 

Mr. Brunot. The Great Father sent me ; and I do what he says if I 
think it is good for those I am talking to. What I thought was good I 
put in the paper. 

Blackfoot. You ought not to give the Sioux guns and ammunition ; 
you should wipe them all out ; you should throw a bad disease on them. 

Mr. Brunot. The Great Father did not tell me to talk about the 
Sioux. I have told you what is in this paper. Now we want all who 
agree to this to come and say " yes," so that after it is all over, nobody 
can say it is the fault of somebody else. I will put my name to it and 
I will never be afraid to say that I think this is good for the Crows. If 
you don't want to agree to this paper, you will say so, and there will be 
none of it. I want all of you to say " yes," and then we will know it is 
all right. We will call the names and if you don't want to say " yes," 
don't say it. If more say " yes" than say " no," it is good. 

Many Indians. It is too small a country in the Judith Basin. We 
want from the Yellowstone to the Missouri. 

Old Crow. If we take Judith Basin we can shoot from one line of 
our country to the other line. 

Iron Bull. We want to move over there, but we want all the other 
side of the river; that is what we want, and we tell you so. 

Mr. Brunot. I don't say "yes." I want to talk to the young men. 
You say you want all the country the other side of the river; that is a 
bigger country than this. If I would give it, I would have to say, " What 
will you give for the difference f ' Some people will talk that way. Most 
of the country over the river white people cannot live on, and never will 
live on. Why did I not put that in with the Judith Basin ? That would 
make A T our land as big as this. If I went to the Great Father and said, 



47 

" I gave tlie Crows all the other side of the river for this," he would 
say, "Why did you do that?" If I said "I promised to give the 
Crows, every year, food and clothing- besides," he would say, "That 
will not do." It is no use to tell him that. But if I say, " I gave the 
Crows a smaller piece of laud and they give you a bigger piece of 
land, you must give them goods every year," he will say, "That is 
all right." If I put in the bad land, that will make it as big as this 
reservation, and it would do you no good except to hunt on, and you can 
hunt there any how. 

Blackfoot. The Crow country is a big country, and we will give it 
for the country on the other side of the river. What I tell you is good 
for both sides ; and we want, besides, what you told us you would give us. 
This is our country, and what we give is worth more than all the other 
side of the river. You want to give us a little hole ; we want a big 
country; you give the Sioux a big country, and the Crows are a big- 
tribe and want a big country. While Blackfoot was speaking a woman 
came forward to speak. 

The one who goes eight straight along. I am a woman and 
ought not to speak in council, but I want to speak of the first council 
on Horse Creek. My brother went to the States and never came 
back. You want to give us a little territory, and we dont want it. The 
whites killed my brother, for he never came back, and you never paid 
me anything for him. Another time we were on the Little Horn ; we 
lived in a big grass lodge, and a white man poisoned my other brother, 
and he died. You bought our land before, and gave us kettles that 
would not hold water. We want all the other side of the river from the 
mouth of the Yellowstone. I want my son to have a big country ; you 
offered us a little country and I don't want it. 

Old Crow. Tongue Biver, Eosebud, Powder Biver, and Big Horn are 
full of wood. In Judith Basin is no wood for a camp. 

Mr. Brunot. I am afraid some one has been talking to you who is 
not a Crow, and you have his ideas. If I were a ISTez Perce,' I might say 
to you do not take Judith Basin; if I were a Blackfoot, I would say 
do not take it; if I were an Assineboine, Piegan, or Bannack, I would say 
to you do not take Judith Basin ; if I were a Wolfer, I would say do not 
take Judith Basin; and what is the reason! All these people can now 
go in there; if it belonged to the Crows, they could not. Maybe some 
of this kind of people have been talking- to you ; if any of these people 
advise you not to take it, you can seethe reason. I told you the second 
day why I wanted you to have Judith Basin. Now, I tell you accord- 
ing to the treaty, the white men, the Wolfers, and other Indian tribes 
can go there the same as the Crows. These men are going in there, 
more and more of them, every day. If you put off, for a year or two, 
getting it, so many whites will be there, that you cannot get it. That was 
one reason I was desirous you should have it now. It is not a big 
country ; I know that is a small country. The time was when all the 
country from the Missouri Biver to the mountains had no white people; 
now there are a great many. Blackfoot spoke about the Sioux ; there 
were a great many Sioux; they roamed on the plains, on the Platte, and 
the Bepublicau, as they pleased. They went and fought the Utes, they 
went as far as they pleased. The Kiowas and Comanches were all over 
that country once. The whites said they were going to make a railroad, 
and all these Indians said as a few Sioux do now, they would not have 
it. If you go down there now you wdl see not one railroad only, but 
many railroads, and when your young men go to Washington, 
they will go ten times as last as a horse can go. That railroad was 



48 

made ; the Sioux could not stop it ; what could they do ? They could 
go to the white man's cabin, where he slept, and kill him, but they 
do not go there to do it now, and the reason was they did not 
take the white man's hand then ; the Great Father sent them away 
to the barren lands on the Arkansas, and the Sioux will be pushed I 
do not know where. The Great Father does not want to serve his 
friends so. The Great Spirit tells us we are of one blood, and 
must do what is good for the red men who hold our hand, as 
we would for our children, and that is the way I feel to the Crows. And 
that is why I come here. Now I have come and said what I think is 
right. I have given the Great Father's message. The Great Father 
wants to save trouble. He is willing to pay you for the mountains the 
white people have been going into. I told you there was a good place 
where you can stay forever, and it is a good place for you to go to. I 
have told you how the buffalo have left other countries and how they 
will go from this. When the buffalo is gone, if you stay here till then, 
you can only live on a piece of this country. You can only huut on the 
other side as long as there are any buffalo. Your ponies can range on 
the Yellowstone, and they can range up to the Judith, but you cannot 
cover it all over with your villages; because your lodges don't cover it 
all over is no reason why you cannot hunt on it. This place is your 
home ; it does not keep you "from hunting where you please. If you take 
Judith Basin for your home, it is the same thing, only that is your home. 
You know that is" a better place than this to stay both summer and 
winter; you stay there now longer than anywhere else. If your agency 
was there it would be better and you could come to this country to 
huut. You say you want all the other side of the river for your reser- 
vation ; that is not what the Great Father tells me to say. I cannot 
give you that, because the Great Father will say the paper is not good. 
I thought you had made up your minds to say yes to what we offered 
but you say you want something else. I have said all 1 have to say 
about that proposition. We offer laud, and we offer money every year 
for food and for the goods you need. 1 am going away, and that is the 
end of it now. But I will always think about the Crows as friends, and 
I hope whatever you do will be good for you. I do not know that I will 
ever see you again. You will remember my words, and some day you 
will know what I said was good for you, and all I said was true. I 
want some of the chiefs to go and see the Great Father. Suppose I was 
to die as I go to the Great Father ; nobody would think the Crows 
killed me. Because there Avas a Crow man went a long way and died 
on his way home, that is not because the white men did bad; it was be- 
cause they gave him so many good things to eat; but these young men 
must not eat so much. Now we will shake hands and stop the council, 
and it is all over, but we are better friends than when we first saw each 
other. But if the chiefs want to come yet and agree to the paper, they 
can come. 

Bear-Wolf. We want you to hold on a while. I want to go with 
Pease and see the Great Father and talk with him. We want to go and 
see how it is. You claim all on the other side of the river and give us 
a small piece of land. We want to go and see about it ; we want Bravo 
and Shirley and Major Pease to go with us. We offer to give you a big 
country and a rich country; we love our Great Father, that is why we 
offer to give it to him. You want to give us a little country where 
there are no mines. 

The council here adjourned. After the council, Iron Bull, Long 
Horse, and Shot-iu-the Jaw, expressed themselves as favorable to 



49 

making the exchange, Thin Belly having expressed the same desire in 
the council. Iron Bull, Long Horse, and Thin Belly are three of the 
principal chiefs, Blackfoot being the only principal chief not express- 
ing a willingness to agree to it. 

Sixth Bay. 

August 16, 1873. 

In the morning all the chiefs and young head men came and expressed 
a desire to sign the agreement. 

Mr. Brunot, after ascertaining that they fully understood it, said : 
You wish to tell me that you agree to the exchange for Judith Basin, 
as it is in the paper. 

All the chiefs. Yes; we all agree to it. 

Mr. Brunot. I want you all to come, one at a time, and say " yes." 
Bring all the others and they will say "yes," and then none can say we 
did not do it. 

Iron Bull. If all the chiefs say "yes," that is enough. 

Mr. Brunot. It is better the others should say so too. 

They then came forward, one at a time, anil said "yes." In signing, 
all expressed the wish thai they might be permitted to eat buffalo as 
long as there was any; others asked that they should have horses; 
others asked for guns, and many asked that Agent Pease should be 
retained. To all of these the explanation was fully given that the paper 
did not promise any of these things, but they were told that when they 
went to see the Great Father they could talk to him about giving them 
what they wanted. 

All who were present, being all the chiefs and headmen (except one) 
came forward, and, fully understanding the articles of convention, 
assented to them, each saying " yes." 

At twelve o'clock we left the agency for Bozeman. 
Respectfullv submitted, 

THOMAS K. CREE, Secretary. 

To the Special Crow Commission. 
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